Two's a Crowd: The Beginning
by The Writing Therapist
Summary: What happens when Harry ends up in Gotham City and runs into it's most infamous criminal?
1. Chapter 1

Things were fairly normal at the moment for seven year-old Harry Potter; he was taking a stroll to clear his head of the odd thoughts he was having lately, mainly thoughts that were not all that nice or that a child should never even think of such as burning down his relative's house with them still inside of it. That particular thought happened the day after he had been locked in his cupboard for playing with one of Dudley's old and broken toys that he had not touched in ages.

He recalled listening to the TV that night as well, his interest had been drawn to the sound after hearing Vernon going off about freaks running wild in a place called Gotham.

"I bet if I went there, I could find someone that likes me... maybe..." Harry muttered quietly as he started to kick a rock down the pathway, he continued his little action and kept thinking of what his life could be if he could find just one person that would care about him when he felt a warm sensation on the back of his neck. The sensation usually accompanied his very bad thoughts but he had also learned that this was a warning of when something back was going to happen to him very soon. Looking behind him, Harry saw his baby whale of a cousin with his group of friends and quickly started running, knowing from experience that they had most likely decided to play a game of 'Harry Hunting'.

'I don't want to be a punching bag my whole life,' Harry thought as he turned a corner, Dudley and his gang not too far behind him. When he reached a dead-end and heard them getting closer, he started to panic. Frantically searching for anyway to escape, a single thought kept repeating in his mind: 'I wish I could be anywhere but here!'

When Dudley and his group turned into the alley, they were confused that Harry was nowhere in sight. They searched the area before leaving to see if he had slipped away and gone in a different direction.

—**HJH—**

Harry was shocked to see the vast change in area around him; he had somehow appeared in a large city, which did not seem like London at all, from the way everything way built, and also it was suddenly nighttime. Looking cautiously around the area he was in, he simply thought, 'Where am I?' He was suddenly jolted from his thoughts by a very loud alarm going off. Turning, he caught sight of two figures saw running from a nearby bank. One, a woman, was wearing a black and red jester's outfit while the other seemed to be wearing a purple suit and both of them had their faces done up in white make-up. He stood staring at them and would have kept staring if the woman had not crashed into him causing the both of them ended up on the ground.

"Ow, watch where you're going!" The woman exclaimed as she picked herself up.

Harry was about to reply when he saw what looked like a spotlight projecting an odd shape onto the clouds and he decided to ask what it was.

The man looked up and let out a laugh, his grin stretching inhumanly widely, before turning to the woman, "As much fun as it would be to play with the Bat, we don't have the time. Come on Harley, I don't want to go back to Arkham so soon after getting out."

"Who's the Bat?" Harry asked, drawing disbelieving looks from the two of them, "…what?"

"You don't know who Batman is!" The man asked. Harry shook his head in response causing the man to grin and grab him by the arm and leading him off, Harley following close behind. "Batman is a dark figure that wants to stop poor people, such as ourselves, from trying to get ahead in life! He always shows up, beats the living sh-uh stuffing out of me and gets me arrested and thrown into Arkham, even though I can get out of there whenever I want."

"So… Batman is a bad guy?" Harry reasoned, trying to keep up with the odd man and just barely avoiding tripping in his worn out shoes.

"To us he is," Harley said, opened the door to the getaway car and tossing the loot inside and, after a moment's hesitation, putting Harry inside as well before jumping into the driver's seat.

"I can see this being the start of something quite interesting," The man said with a laugh as he jumped into the passenger seat, "What's your name, kiddo?"

"Harry Potter," he replied with a smile, these two were interesting and he liked their costumes also, they were nice to him at least nice in comparison to the Dursley's.

"Name's Harley Quinn," the woman spoke up as she started up the car and drove away from the scene.

The man smiled widely and shook Harry's hand, giving him a slight shock due to a joy buzzer he had palmed in his hand, he laughed before introducing himself, "Joker."

—**HJH—**

Harry sat on a stool, hands firmly folded in his lap after getting too curious earlier and accidentally setting off a gas canister. Harley had simultaneously pulled him away from the escaping gas, turned it off, and forced him to sit where he was now. As he watched the two of them, there was something he was dying to ask, "Um…if it's not rude to ask, why are the two of you dressed up like that? I don't think Halloween is anytime soon." The look the two of them gave him made him regret asking and fearing if they would hit him for doing so, "Never mind, you don't have to tell me that was rude."

"You bet it was rude," Harley yelled. Harry automatically covered his head with his arms, anticipating a hit but was confused when it didn't come. "Why'd you do that?"

"Sorry, a habit I guess. My aunt and uncle would hit me if I asked questions," Harry explained as he slowly brought his arms down. The odd silence that came after the statement was broken when Harry's stomach decided to inform everyone that it was very empty, to the embarrassment of Harry, "Is there anything to eat?…if it's not too much to ask."

"It you want to survive, your best bet is if Harley here goes out to get food…last time she tried to cook, she either nearly burned down the hideout or it came to life and tried to eat _us_!" The Joker said, quite seriously before degenerating into laughter.

"My cooking ain't that bad!" Harley pouted.

"Harley, you have the ability to defy the laws of everything by being able to burn water!" Joker cackled before quickly running away to avoid been hit by the mallet that Harley was suddenly wielding.

"Um, if you have anything that's still good, I can try to make something," Harry cut in, watching as Joker bare avoided being hit, "I always had to cook for my relatives," He saw the odd look on their faces, "…what?"

"There's no way someone your age knows how to work a stove, never mind know how to cook," Harley stated, setting the mallet down.

"Want me to prove it to you?" Harry responded seriously. Several minutes, a large pile of rotten food thrown out and various dishes and utensils cleaned later, Harry set down in front of the three of them a batch of small eggs, which were actually quite good. "If I can cook and do other things around here, can I stay?"

"If every meal you make is like this, not only will I let you stay, I won't threaten your life!" Joker announced, quickly devouring his food.

Harry was both relieved and confused at the Joker's statement but brushed it aside, besides, people who looked like clowns could not be all that bad.

Joker kept things as the table entertaining by telling tales of the 'evil' Batman and all of the tools that he used to hurt people with, Harry liked the stories even though he was scared by them. All too soon, Harry's eyes started to droop slightly despite his attempts to stay awake to hear more of the stories. Finally he gave up the fight and laid his head down at the table and fell asleep. Joker paused mid-way through his current tale when he noticed that his most excited audience member was no longer in the realm of those who were awake.

"He looks so cute," Harley fawned over the boy's sleeping form before prompting a question, "Where are we gonna put him, Mister J?"

"Put him on a spare bed or couch or something, I've got to plan things," Joker said dismissively as he stood from the table and walked off.

Harley shrugged her shoulders before carefully picking up Harry slowly, as not to wake him, and noted that he was a lot lighter than his claimed age of seven. She chose to set him down in an old couch and, after a few minutes of searching, covered him in a blanket and tucked him in.

—**HJH—**

Harry was confused, he felt so small and yet he felt safe too. He tried to move but his arms flailed uselessly as he let out a noise of annoyance.

"Settle down Harry, it's time for bed," a kind voice intruded on his actions. Harry moved his head towards the sound, to the best of his abilities, and barely made out a face framed by red hair. He knew instinctively that this was someone he could trust, the reason he felt so safe even though he could not do much in his current state. The person moved towards him and planted a kiss on his forehead before moving away, smiling.

'Are you my mum?' He tried to ask but all that came out was gibberish, to which the she laughed kindly.

She face turned away from him suddenly as a loud crash sounded in the room next to the one he was in. Harry whimpered from a combination of her turning away from him and the loud noise, he started crying when the door to the room was kicked in and he saw a dark figure step into the room and ordered her away from him. Before his view was blocked, he saw that the person threatening them had pointed ears on the top of his head. 'That's Batman! Mum run, he'll hurt you!' He tried to warn her, but once again his words only came out as incoherent babbles. He heard her speaking to Batman, but could not make out the words when Batman grew tired of her getting in the way and drew out a batarang and proceeded to stab her with it. As the woman dropped to the side, Batman advanced on Harry causing him to start screaming and crying in response.

"Harry, Harry!" a voice cut through the noise and the darkness to bring him back to the world of reality.

Harry finally awoke and quickly latched onto the closest thing next to him and held on tightly, "Don't let him get me mum, keep him away!"

The person that Harry had grabbed was a concerned Harley Quinn that had heard the commotion and had woken him up from his nightmare. She gently stroked his hair, soothing him with her touch and words, and also vaguely registering that he had called her his mother.

The Joker walked into the room, wondering what the hell was going on and saw Harley and Harry, "…is this a bad time to ask you to go get some donuts?" He barely avoided being hit with a heavy object; whether it was a brick or a book he could not really tell, and quickly vacated the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry exuded an aura of one who seemed to be losing it; he had not slept for nearly two days after the nightmare and combined with the Joker telling him more scary stories about Batman, to which Harley responded by nearly pummeling him with a ridiculously large mallet, he was quickly becoming paranoid about every little shadow he saw in his surroundings. Harley finally figured out a way to at least have Harry get some rest.

"Where're we goin'?" Harry asked sleepily, forcing himself to keep his eyes open as Harley buckled him into the car.

"We're going to see a friend of mine, I'm sure she can help you out with your nightmares," Harley said, driving off. The ride went on in relative silence, if you ignore the incident where Harry thought he saw Batman again and nearly strangled himself with his seatbelt trying to get away. Harley was glad when they finally pulled up to a greenhouse and unbuckled Harry.

"Why does your friend like to live here?" Harry asked, "Do they really like plants? I like plants."

"Yes Harry, she _really_ likes plants," Harley said, patting Harry on the head before knocking on the door to the greenhouse.

The door opened and Harry saw a woman wearing green clothing, which oddly seemed to be made out of leaves, and had red hair. The hair caused him to stare at her for a moment before looking away, realizing he was being rude in doing so. The woman noticed Harry hiding behind Harley, "Who's the kid?"

"Red, this is Harry and Harry this is my friend, Poison Ivy but I just call her Red," Harley introduced them to each other before leading Harry inside, "I need your help with a little something, do you have a plant or anything to stop nightmares? Harry here has been having some bad ones."

Ivy thought for a moment before walking off, "I did start creating a plant to neutralize Scarecrow's Fear Toxin, I think it might do just fine to ward off nightmares but I'm not sure."

"Who's Scarecrow an what's Fear Toxin?" Harry asked, nearly walking into a set of pots.

"I'll tell you some other time, hun, I don't think you want any more nightmares," Harley explained picking Harry up to make sure he would not crash into anything else.

Ivy came back carrying a small plant and a syringe, Harry quickly noticed the later, "Why do you have a needle?"

"I expect that you'll be coming here as often as Harley does, so might as well give you this now rather than later," Ivy said, setting the items down and motioning for Harley to roll up Harry's sleeve.

"What is it supposed to do?" Harry asked, squirming to get away.

"It's a special serum that will make you immune to several types of poisons and toxins as well as allow me to touch you without accidentally poisoning you," Ivy explained, gripping Harry's arm by the sleeve and injecting him with the serum.

Harry whined as he felt the needle prick his arm, "That hurt!"  
"It's okay, hun," Harley soothed.

"Now, to take care of those nightmares," Ivy picked up the plant and held it in front of Harry's face. She said something quietly to the plant causing it to spray a small burst of pollen in Harry's face, making him cough slightly, "That should take care of it."

"I don't wanna sleep now," Harry complained, "I'm not sleepy…I'm not…"

Harley smiled as Harry grew limp and fell asleep in her arms, "Did you happen to give him anything else to get him to sleep so quickly?"

"A mild sedative in the serum, that's all," Ivy explained, putting the plant back down.

"Well that is good," Harry said, yawning widely and looking at the two women in front of him, "Before you say anything, Harry is out like a light and he is not having any nightmares, for which I am thankful for."

"Then why are you awake?" Ivy asked, noting that he had dropped his accent and adopted an American one.

"I am Harry and yet I am not. I only exist as a portion of his mind that was created separately from when he was born. I could not do much but I would switch places with him and take all of the pain into myself whenever his relatives would hurt him in order to protect him…the only downside of that is that I am a bit mentally unstable, in my own opinion," 'Harry' explained, stretching his limbs slightly.

"…mind telling me who his relatives are and where they live?" Harley asked innocently.

"That depends, are you going to go find and kill them?" 'Harry' asked bluntly, "Please do not lie to me, I may be a child but I am not an idiot."

"Maybe, I just don't like people that would hurt a kid. Especially as one as cute as you," Harley stated, pulling Harry into a bruising hug.

"I wouldn't mind giving them a lesson, too," Ivy added, "Harley, let him go before you choke him to death."

Harley noticed that 'Harry' was starting to turn blue and quickly let go, "Sorry hun."

'Harry' coughed a bit before speaking, "Just go easy the next time, and they live in England, so it will be a bit difficult to get to them."

Harley pouted childishly, "Dang!"

'Harry' smiled in response, "Can I ask the two of you to do something important for me?"

"What do you need?" Harley responded.

"Never abandon Harry that is all I ask. I am glad that he finally found people that actually care that he exists," 'Harry' requested.

"Don't worry, kiddo, I'll keep an eye on him," Harley said proudly, "Right, Red?"

"Why are you including me in this?" Ivy asked.

"Harry would appreciate having someone that looks similar to his mother that is all I am saying," He supplied before yawning widely before nodding off slowly, "I should sleep, I do not want to draw away from any energy that Harry would receive during his sleep."

Harley watched as he drifted off before turning to Ivy, "Mind if we stay?"

"Of course not, just use your usual room," Ivy said before going off to tend to the rest of her plants even though her thoughts were preoccupied with the strange boy that had attached himself to Harley.

—**HJH—**

Things went fairly routine for Harry's life over the next few weeks: he would make meals for Joker and Harley, avoid Joker when he was in a planning mood, occasionally give advice in schemes they were planning, and generally enjoyed his life. But, like most kids his age, he eventually got bored with the routine, even though it would sometimes be interrupted if Joker felt energetic enough to cause mayhem at the table, and decided to cautiously ask one day, "Can I join in on your next plan?"

Joker stopped what he was doing, which was eating dinner consisting of chicken and vegetables, the second he avoided eating, "You're already involved with the plans; you helped me figure out easier ways of carrying around Joker Gas, those exploding little capsules were genius!"  
Harry shook his head, "I mean that I want to help with whatever you're doing! I wanna be part of the plan, doing stuff!"

"Hun, you're a little too young, and too small to be able to do a lot," Harley said.

"Can I at least be a lookout or something?" Harry sulked.

"You could, but you're missing one important thing," Joker answered finishing his food and was pushing his vegetables around his plate.

"What?" Harry asked.

"A costume," Joker replied simply.

"A costume, that's the only reason I can't join you? That's just dumb and stupid!" Harry ranted, nearly falling off his chair. He proceeded to stand on his chair and continued to rave about how unfair things were before storming from the room, his dinner half eaten to which Joker quickly snatched and ate himself.

"Ya know, Mista J, that's not fair to Harry, he really wants to help us out," Harley explained.

"He's too small to be able to get away with any decent loot," Joker responded. Harley left the table with a sigh of annoyance, "You gonna finish your food, no? More for me then!"

Harley checked into Harry sometime later, "Hun, you okay?"

"No, he is rather upset," Harley instantly knew that she was dealing with the other Harry. He stared over the rims of his glasses, inadvertently making himself look a tad sinister, "He does not understand why he cannot help you."

"He's too young, I said that," Harley explained sitting down on the bed they had acquired, meaning stole, for Harry, "And I don't wanna see him hurt."

"…teach him how to fight, if you want him to not get hurt. He wants to be able to do the things you can, he wants to learn how to fight like you do," 'Harry' answered.

"I'll think about it…you think there's something else I can call you? It gets too confusing to call both of you Harry," Harley rationalized.

"That is a good suggestion," 'Harry' thought it over a minute before letting out a small laugh, "I got one and it sort of keeps in the theme of both your name and Joker's."

"What is it?"

'Harry' smiled widely, "Call me Prank from now on."


	3. Chapter 3

Harry sulked in a hidden corner of Poison Ivy's greenhouse; Harley had just dropped him off so she and Joker could pull off one of their plans. "It's not fair, I wanted to help," He pouted.

'_Maybe when you are bigger, Harry.'_

"Shut up, Prank, I wasn't asking for your opinion."

'_It is that attitude that convinces them that you are too young to assist them.' _

Harry grumbled darkly under his breath, both appreciating and hating the fact he had found out how to communicate with his other personality.

"Harry, where are you kid?" Ivy called out.

Harry peeked out from behind a bush before ducking back down, planning to jump out and surprise her. His plans were foiled, however, when a set of vines picked him up off the ground and proceeded to tickle him mercilessly. He was tickled until he laughed for so long that his sides hurt before being dropped into Ivy's arms, "That wasn't fair, you cheated!"

Ivy gave a small smile, "I wasn't aware that we were playing a game."  
Harry thought for a moment, "I guess you're right, it can't count as cheating if the other person doesn't know it's a game."

Ivy laughed before setting Harry down, "Glad you understand."

Harry smiled before pulling himself onto several vines to create a makeshift swing, "I like spending time with you and your plants but I still wanna help them out." _'Do not start on that again.' _"Shut up Prank."

"Who's Prank?" Ivy asked.

"That's what the other me calls himself since it was too confusing calling both of us by the same name," Harry explained, "He's a bit annoying sometimes." _'I can hear you.' _"Of course you can, you're in my head!"

"It's not healthy to argue with yourself," Ivy laughed, giving Harry a slight push on his swing, "And why do you want to help Joker?"

"I wanna help out my mum more than Joker, truthfully. It just seems like I'm helping Joker when I'm really helping her," Harry explained, the rocking of the swing making him feel calmer.

"If only Harley could learn how to detach herself from Joker as you do," Ivy remarked.

"You don't like the Joker a lot, do you?" Harry half asked, half stated.

"What makes you say that?" Ivy responded.

"The way you talk about him…it's the same way my aunt and uncle used to talk about me," Harry replied, turning his eyes towards the ground.

Ivy stopped the motion of the swing and wrapped her arms around Harry, "How did you end up in the care of such unfeeling creatures?"

"My parents died in a car crash, but I don't know if that's true or not since it was them who told me that. I remember my mum, or at least what she sort of looked like," Harry stated, "She had red hair and green eyes, like you do. Maybe the reason I like you so much is because you remind me of her a lot, she made me feel so safe. I know you're not her, but I see both you and Harley as both being like her…is that weird?"

"Not really, Harry. When people, especially children, lose someone important or special to them, they try to put someone else to fill in that place," Ivy explained.

"…are you gonna stay around?" Harry quietly asked.

"Yes, I made a promise to your other self that I wouldn't abandon you. I'll watch out for you and keep you safe," Ivy said, hugging Harry tightly.

"Thank you," Harry replied with a small smile before yawning widely.

"Time for bed, go change," Ivy told him, getting him off the swing.

Harry quickly dressed in some pajamas that Harley had gotten, once again meaning stolen, for him not too long ago. "Um, where am I gonna sleep?" Ivy responded to his question with a flick of her fingers and the plants around them formed a bed. "Oh…thanks." Harry said climbing onto it, "It's really comfy and s oft!"

Ivy smiled before tucking Harry in and giving him a kiss on the head goodnight, causing him to blush from the unexpected bit of affection, "Sweet dreams Harry." Harry smiled as he nodded off.

—**HJH—**

Harry opened his eyes and almost immediately shut them again, everything was too bright. He slowly opened them again and noticed that he was completely surrounded by whiteness and there was not anything else he could see. "Mum…Harley…Ivy? Is there anyone here?" He was alone. The thought of being abandoned again made him start crying. _'Harry, this is not real.'_ Harry looked up and saw himself but noted that there were small differences and realized that it was actually Prank, "You mean this is a dream?" _'Yes, this would never happen because both Harley and Ivy promised to take care of you and to not leave you alone again. The reason you dream of this is because you still afraid of the fact they might not want you one day. Listen to me, Harry, they will not abandon you because they love you and they care for you. Do you understand that?' _Harry nodded his head happily and wiped the remaining tears away. _'Good. Now, wake up!'_ With that, Prank shoved him slightly and Harry woke up in his plant bed. He felt uncomfortable sleeping alone after that dream, he climbed out and made his way to where Ivy slept, cautiously nudging her awake.

"What is it Harry?" Ivy asked, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes.

"I…I had a bad dream can I…um, sleep with you, if that's okay?" Harry warily asked. Ivy answered his question by scooping him up into her arms and holding him against her as her plants curled around both of them. Harry smiled slightly and slowly fell asleep to Ivy stroking his hair and humming him a lullaby.

—**HJH—**

When Harley picked him up the next day, she was depressed, apparently their plan did not go all too well and the Joker had gotten captured and sent off to Arkham. Harry attempted to cheer her up, mainly by making her something sweet but nothing really worked. "Mum, it's not like he's going to be gone forever, both of you say that he can always get out when he feels like it."

Harley sighed, "I know, but I still miss him."

"…he's been gone less than ten hours," Harry deadpanned.

"Already?" Harley said before starting to cry.

'_Why she likes that man so much I will never know.'_ "You and me both, Prank," Harry said under his breath.

"Did you say something hun?" Harley asked.

"Um… can you teach me to fight?" Harry said, trying to distract her from thoughts about Joker.

Harley immediately perked up, "Sure kiddo!"

'_She has a one track mind.'_ "Shut up Prank," Harry muttered.

—**HJH—**

A few hours later found Harry battered, bruised, nicked in several places, a number of band-aids applied to him, and holding an icepack to the side of his head. He looked over at Harley, who looked very embarrassed, and deadpanned, "That could've gone a lot better."

"I'm sorry, hun, I didn't realize most of the things I do are so tricky," Harley replied, roughly hugging Harry in an attempt to apologize.

"The hugging is not helping the pain," Harry remarked with a grimace, causing Harley to quickly let go.

"I can't do anything right!" Harley said, becoming depressed again.

"It's not your fault, maybe next time we'll start off with something easier?" Harry offered, not wanting Harley to start crying all over again.

"I guess," Harley moped.

Harry sighed before saying with a small grin, "You want to help me make cookies? We can put extra chocolate chips if you want." Harley grinned widely before bouncing off to the kitchen.

'_I have said it once, and I shall say it again: she has a one track mind.' _

"…go to hell, Prank."


	4. Welcome Home

Harry sighed as he scrubbed roughly as a cake pan; cake mixture was blackened and clung to the sides. After several minutes of intense cleaning, he gave up and tossed it aside, deciding that it would be too much trouble to try to salvage it. The mess came from Harley's, obviously, failed attempt at baking a 'Welcome Back' cake for Joker since she was breaking him out today. He cleaned up the rest of the mess before sitting down and waiting for Harley to come back from getting Joker out of Arkham. He could not wait to show Joker that he would be helpful, now that Harley had finally taught him how to fight and dodge, mainly dodge, when in certain situations and he had been constantly practicing those skills as well as perfecting his aim with the empty capsules that would eventually contain Joker Gas, since it was easier and safer to practice with them while they were still empty; he hoped that his new talents would finally be able to convince them to let him help. He tugged absently at the outfit that Harley had given him as a base for his costume; it was similar to what Harley herself wore however it was all black and rather plain looking, but he was excited when told that they would be able to modify it to whatever he wanted. As it was, it was fairly comfortable and easy to move around in, although he thought that it could use a pocket or two to store his things, and he was glad that it kept his body temperature at a fairly even level. He heard the sound of a car outside and knew that it must be Harley and Joker and was proven right when the door opened and both of them came in.

"It's good to be back!" Joker exclaimed, pulling something off him and draping it over the nearest chair, "What they hell is that burning smell?"

"Mum tried to bake a cake…and failed quite miserably at it," Harry explained, taking a better look at what Joker had taken off, noting that it was a straitjacket.

"It's the thought that counts, right puddin'?" Harley butted in, hugging Joker's arm tightly. Harry could not help but smile at her antics when a small bell went off, "What's that, hun?"

"I made another cake when you left," Harry clarified as he went over to the barely working oven, pulling on oven mitts, and pulling out a cake, "You guys fine with chocolate?"

"I am!" Harley said, gleefully sitting down at the table.

"I'm not complaining," Joker commented, sitting down as well.

Harry happily cut up the cake and divided it amongst them and the few goons that were around before taking an interest in the straitjacket; on a whim, he picked it up from where Joker had left it and decided to put it on. The effect was quite comical since it was made with an adult in mind and was ridiculously oversized on him: the sleeves reached all the way to his feet and the edge of the jacket went nearly to his knees.

"You look so cute!" Harley squealed, scooping Harry up into a rough hug.

"I still have bruises from you teaching me," Harry mentioned.

"Oh, sorry!" Harley quickly put him down, "But I couldn't resist, that thing just fits you!"  
"It's too big for me," Harry said, lifting up his arms to emphasize how much sleeve there was.

"I meant that it would be perfect for your costume," Harley explained.

"It's a little plain looking," Joker commented, eating another piece of cake.

"Could we color it?" Harry asked, "Maybe red or purple?"

"Purple!" Joker exclaimed gleefully.

"Purple it is, then," Harley smiled, "We'll just cut down the sleeves and the length of the jacket a bit and dye it."

Harry grinned, "Does this mean when it's finished, I can join you?"

"Not until you're ten," Joker offhandedly commented.

"That's in two years!" Harry yelled.

"I thought you were seven?" Harley remarked.

"My birthday is July 31st," Harry stated, attempting to look serious but failing due to the fact he was still wearing the straitjacket.

"Look like I got out just in time," Joker said, realizing that the day in question was about a month away.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"He means that he'll be able to celebrate your birthday hun," Harley said with a smile.

"…we're gonna to celebrate it?" Harry stated, surprised that they would do that.

"Why wouldn't we? A birthday only comes once a year!" Harley started bouncing around the room, spouting off plans for the event.

"You act like you've never had a birthday party before," Joker commented.

"That's because I haven't," Harry truthfully stated, "And the only presents I ever got was a coat hanger and an old pair of socks."

Harley looked mad, "Well, we're just gonna have to throw you a party to make up for all the ones you didn't have. Now, who're we gonna invite? Red's definitely coming…maybe Pengy and Cats and Riddles…are we on good terms with Scarecrow?"

"Not really, but I want to hit him with a chair again for that stunt he tried to pull on me," Joker remarked.

"What he'd do?" Harry inquired curiously.

"He tried to use that Fear Toxin on me but it didn't work. I was mad at him so I beat him to a pulp with a chair," Joker explained with a smile. For some reason, Harry found the story funny.

"Now puddin' can you try to not beat him up too badly? It'll ruin the mood of the party," Harley cut in.

"I'm not making any promises," Joker commented. Harry could not help the wide grin that nearly split his face in two; he was going to actually celebrate his birthday!


	5. Cake, Gifts, and Toxin

Harry sat in his room in his completed costume, which consisted of the black jumpsuit with the straitjacket worn over it, which was now colored purple and shortened considerably so it no longer hindered his movements, he also wore dark purple boots and black gloves. He was feeling both excited and terrified, excited because it was his birthday and he was actually celebrating it with a party and with people that acknowledged his existence; terrified because there would be quite a few people that he did not know attending, mainly because either Joker or Harley convinced and/or threatened them to come. His main comfort was that Ivy was there and if he got scared, he could most likely retreat into his straitjacket.

"Hun, a lot of guests are here, come on out," Harley poked her head into his room and gave him a comforting smile.

"What if they don't like me?" Harry asked, afraid to leave the room.

"If they don't, me and Mista J will convince them," Harley beamed, causing Harry to smile slightly in response.

Harry stood up, adjusted his glasses slightly, and turned to her, "I guess as long as I have you, Joker, or Ivy around I'll be okay."

"That's the spirit," Harley smiled, ruffling Harry's hair.

Harry laughed as he batted her hands away, "And I have something cool to show Joker later on, so if I forget remind me, okay?"

"Alright hun," Harley answered, practically bouncing out the door.

'_Happy birthday, kid.'_

"Thank you Prank and technically it's your birthday too," Harry replied, walking out the door.

'_I think not, Harry. I was created separately from you, sometime after you were born.'_

"As long as we share the same body, we share the same birthday, that's final!" Prank chuckled.

'_If that is what you want, it will be my birthday as well.' _

"Why do you talk like that?" _'_

_What do you mean? Do I talk strangely?' _

"Yes, why do you talk like that?"

'_It is just how I talk, do you find it annoying?' _

"No, just odd. Everyone has weird stuff they do, so it's fine."

"Who you talking to, kiddo?" Harry looked up and saw Joker in front of him.

"Prank, just about random stuff," Harry answered.

"Speaking of Prank, I think it'll be better if you go by that name today," Joker said.

"Why?" Harry asked curiously.

"Have you ever heard of a costume wearing person called 'Harry'?" Joker asked sarcastically.

"No… I can kinda see what you mean," Harry said, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to do that. Oh, I have to show you something that I found out I can do!"

"What is it?" Joker inquired.

Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes, concentrating inward and found what he needed. He slowly brought to the surface the semi-familiar warm feeling and directed it to go towards his head and manifest itself in his hair. He opened his eyes and smiled at the surprised expression on Joker's face as he stared at the fact his hair was now the same color as his eyes.

"It took me forever to teach myself how to get my whole hair green, the only bad thing is that I can't turn it back for a few hours… it's cool right?" Harry beamed before stepping into the main room and seeing a collection of people in various outfits. He immediately saw Harley and Ivy off to one side chatting and looked over the other guests that were there.

There was a man wearing a green outfit with a question marks theme to it, a man who wore an odd tuxedo that was split down the middle into two vastly different sections with his face badly scarred as well, there was another man who seemed to be dressed in something that could best be described as a sort of mechanical suit, and a man dressed in ragged clothing with a sac over his head and with a wide-brimmed hat.

"The guest of honor has arrived!" Joker announced, pushing Harry forward slightly. Harry stood frozen in fear before promptly maneuvering himself so that he hid behind Joker.

"No need to be shy," Harley said, trying to drag Harry out from behind Joker, her plan hit a snag when Harry grabbed onto Joker's jacket and held on as strongly as he could. Most of the people in the room found the situation to be a combination of comical, confusing, and cute as Harley kept pulling on Harry to try and get him to let go. Ivy walked over to them and proceeded to tickle the young boy in the ribs, causing him and Harley to crash to the floor when she pulled on him at the same moment as when he let go.

"That was entertaining," Ivy commented.

"Who's the kid?" The man, who seemed to be split in half, asked.

"Um… I'm Prank," Harry said nervously, as he tried to hide behind Ivy.

"How you were kept a secret for so long is astounding. None of us, even me, had any idea you existed," The man with question marks stated, "But the resemblance is amazing."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"I believe he's under the impression you and Joker are actually related, most likely because of your hair," Ivy explained with a smirk.

"…he thinks that we're related just because we both have green hair?" Harry stated, dumbfounded.

"You mean you're not?" The man responded, embarrassed that he was wrong.

"No, my hair only looks like this since I want it to," Harry explained, "Um, this is awkward but I don't know the names of any of you, do you mind telling me?"

Question mark man gave a slight bow, "Edward Nygma, otherwise known as the Riddler."

The man who seemed split in two flipped a coin before introducing himself, "Two-Face."

"Mr. Freeze," responded the man in the mechanical suit.

"Dr. Jonathan Crane, also called Scarecrow," The man in the tattered outfit spoke up.

"Scarecrow… that's the guy you beat with a chair, right?" Harry asked Joker, unintentionally insulting Scarecrow.

Joker laughed, "Yep, that's the one."

"What do you wanna do first? Games, cake, presents?" Harley asked.

"Cake!" Harry said, happily.

"Cake it is then," Joker remarked.

As most of the group went over to where a brightly decorated cake sat, Mr. Freeze pulled Harley to the side slightly and asked, "How long has he been in yours and Joker's care?"

"A few months, why?" Harley answered, slightly wary.

"Would I be correct in guessing that he hasn't been in a school the entire time?" He responded.

"Yeah, we can't really send him off because we always change locations or we're in and out of Arkham," Harley commented, "Why are you asking?"

"A boy his age needs his mind to be nurtured to help it grow."  
"What do you mean?"

"Since you cannot put him in a regular school, I am offering to teach him," Mr. Freeze finally said.

"Teach who?" Riddler asked, suddenly appearing behind them and scaring Harley slightly.

"Young Prank," Mr. Freeze explained.

"You saw the potential too?" Riddler remarked, excited, "The boy is brilliant; I can see it in his eyes!"

"You offering to teach him too?" Harley asked.

"Can I?" Riddler responded, ecstatic at the thought of helping to mold a young mind.

"We have to ask Ha-Prank first, but after the party," Harley replied, mentally smacking herself for the near slip.

—**HJH—**

Harry stared at the small collection of gifts on the table in front of him, excited that he was about to open them.

"Calm down kiddo, you look like you're about to jump out of your skin," Joker commented before handing a small package first, "Open mine first." Harry smiled brightly before ripping off the wrapping and revealing what appeared to be two decks of ordinary playing cards.

"That's not much of a gift," Riddler commented.

"They're not regular cards," Joker said as he took out a card and threw it, surprising everyone when it embedded itself about an inch into a nearby wall.

"Thank you!" Harry said, ecstatic and giving Joker a fierce hug catching him slightly off guard. Harry then proceeded to slip the cards up the sleeves of his jacket.

Harley came up and handed Harry her gift, "It's not much, but I hope you still like it."  
Harry pulled off the wrapping to reveal a simple picture frame but what caught his attention was the picture it held. It was himself and Harley not long after he had started to live with them and he saw Joker in the background acting ridiculous, but it completely fit with how they were. He turned and hugged Harley as hard as he could, "It's perfect, thank you."

"No problem, hun," Harley remarked, hugging him back.

Ivy came forward, "I couldn't bring your gift because it's more at home in my greenhouse. I'll show it to you next time you visit."

"You got the kid a plant?" Two-Face remarked.

"I like plants!" Harry said and smiled at Ivy, "I can't wait to see what it is."

Riddler came forward and handed Harry a small box which contained only a piece of paper, "I hid your gift and you have to find it by solving my riddles." Harry stared at the piece of paper for a moment before crumpling it up and tossing it away, causing everyone to laugh at the upset look on Riddler's face. "I'll just go get the thing." He eventually came back and presented a small book filled with puzzles to which several people muttered 'Typical'.

Two-Face kept quiet as he handed over a coin. Harry flipped it over several times and noted that both sides had a stylized joker on it, with one side having the image roughly scratched over, "I only found out about all this two days ago, don't blame me for the lousy gift."  
"I like it," Harry responded. Two-Face seemed surprised before walking off to a darkened corner.

Mr. Freeze handed Harry a set of slightly tinted goggles, "They're better to wear than your glasses when you're active, you would not need to worry about them falling off. I would need to modify them to fit your prescription, though." Harry thanked him and put the goggles on so that they rested around his neck.

"Here's my gift, kid," Scarecrow said, handing over a small box. Harry gave him a small smile before opening the box and being sprayed by a strange mist. Things suddenly went out of focus and the images around him warped, transforming into demonic shadows that reached for him. He took a few steps back when he felt something grab him and he jerked away. The thing that had grabbed him was actually Joker who had tried to get him to stay still the moment he realized that Scarecrow had used Fear Toxin on him. Joker rounded on Scarecrow and was poised to beat the hell out of him when Harry started screaming and going into a fit. Harley grabbed hold of Harry tightly to reduce the amount of injuries he would cause himself when he suddenly went limp.  
"Please let go of me Harley, I want to hurt the one who is causing him so much pain," Prank announced, glaring over his glasses at Scarecrow's cowering form. Harley immediately let go hearing the cold tone to his voice.

Prank stood up slowly, fingers twitching slightly, and stalked over to Scarecrow, "I will make you pay for the agony you are causing him." Scarecrow did not have a chance to respond when Prank suddenly grabbed the front of his outfit and quickly slammed him to the ground. He lay there a moment before Prank kicked him in the head and crushed his left hand beneath his feet. Prank stalked off into the darkness for a moment before coming back, dragging a small pipe behind him. Scarecrow stared at the pipe as Prank lifted it over his head and brought it down on Scarecrow's legs with a sickening crack. Prank continued his assault for several minutes before abruptly dropping the pipe and starting to shake violently. Only three people in the room realized that Harry had taken back control and was horrified at what had happened. Before anyone could react, Harry turned and ran out of the hideout and into the darkness outside.

Harry ran as far and as fast as his legs could carry him until he was nearly doubled over in exhaustion, gasping for air. "They'll never want me back, they hate me!" He said to himself, wiping tears away from his eyes.

'_No, they lo-' _

"Shut up, this all your fault! Why did you do that to him?" Harry yelled, not caring that he was attracting attention.

'…_I did it for you, Harry. He hurt you so I hurt him back.'_

"Did you have to beat him that badly?"

'_I thought that it was equal to the pain you were experiencing.' _

"It doesn't matter anymore; mu-Harley, Joker, or Ivy won't take me in…they won't."

_'They know it was not you who did that; they know that it was me.' _

"But what about everyone else?"

'_I am not sure…'_

"Hey kid, it's dangerous for you to be walking the streets alone. Especially if you're talkin' to yourself," a rough voice intruded into Harry's conversation.

Harry turned and saw a large man near him, "I…uh, don't really have anywhere to go."

The man grinned cruelly before grabbing Harry, "That's bad for you."

Harry struggled, but even with the boost in strength he had received from serum Ivy had given him months ago, the fact was he was a kid and was very small in comparison to the man who held him. He lashed out as much as he could and yelled for Harley, Joker, anyone to help him, and someone answered but not anyone he would have guessed. He was confused when he suddenly ended up on the ground and the man who had grabbed him was getting beat up by, what looked like, a large shadow.

The shadow stood up and turned towards Harry, a nearby light accentuating his shape, causing him to realize who he was facing: Batman.

"Are you alright?" Batman asked, reaching to help Harry up.

"Stay away from me," Harry said, backing away. Batman took a step closer and Harry reacted, throwing one of the playing cards at his head but it did not get anywhere near the Dark Knight.  
"Who are you?" Batman asked, starting to draw connections and guesses from his attire and his hair color as well as remembering that he had called for Harley Quinn and Joker to come help him.

"Leave me alone, get away from me!" Harry yelled, panicking and covering his head, "Mum, help me!"

Batman took another step closer when a voice startled the both of them, "It's not nice to pick on little kids, Batsy."

Almost simultaneously, both Harry and Batman responded, "Joker!" But the tone each used was vastly different: Harry said it with joy and relief while Batman responded with anger and resentment.

"There you are kiddo, Harley was worried when you ran off," Joker said, grinning down at Harry, "Thanks for keeping an eye on him Bats, but I'll be taking him back now."  
"I don't think so Joker," Batman said in a tone that sent chills down Harry's spine because it made him remember his uncle.

Harry was scared, for both himself and Joker because of the things that he had heard Batman was capable of doing and wanted Joker to be safe, mainly because he did not want to make Harley worry anymore today and wanted her to always be happy. 'I want him to go away, but I'm too little. I can't do anything!'

'_You may be wrong about that.' _

'What do you mean?'

'_Remember the sensation from when you changed your hair color, try to using against Batman.' _

'I don't think I can…'

'_Try first before you say that you cannot do something!'_

Harry let out a shaky breath before closing his eyes and seeking inwards to where the source of the energy seemed to be, he pulled a large portion out and focused it into his hands before running at Batman.

Batman was distracted by Joker at the moment Harry attacked, giving him a clear shot at his abdomen. Harry placed his hands there and forced all of the energy out to push Batman as far away as he possibly could. All of those in that spot were shocked at how far Batman got thrown back, nearly a full block. Harry stared at the sight before crumpling to the ground, exhausted.

—**HJH—**

Harry woke up sometime later, tucked into his bed, and feeling someone running their fingers gently through his hair. He opened his eyes slowly and saw Harley sitting on his bed next to him, "I'm glad you're alright, hun. I was worried when Mista J came back with you out like a light. He had one interesting story to tell of how you blasted Batman off his feet."

Harry smiled slightly before fearfully asking, "…am I in trouble for what happened to Scarecrow?"

Harley shook her head, "Everyone agreed that he deserved it, I mean, how could anyone do such a thing to someone as cute as you? Also, he's going to be the brunt of many jokes for a long time."

Harry blushed and buried himself deeper into his covers, "Did you have to tell them about Prank?"

"The only thing that they really know is that you have another personality that is very protective of you, you can tell them the rest whenever you like or not at all," Harley explained, "Two-Face seemed happy about that, but I couldn't really tell."

"So, you'll let me stay?"

"Of course, why would you think we wouldn't?" Harley asked, baffled.

"I just thought that because of what happened you wouldn't want me anymore," Harry said, nearly pulling the covers over his head.

"It wasn't your fault, remember that. We'll take care of you Harry, you don't have to worry," Harley soothed, "Get some sleep, we want your input on the plans for our heist in a month or so."

"You mean I finally get to help you guys?" Harry was stunned.

"Yep, puddin' decided that you'll be able to take care of yourself, maybe because of what you did to the Bat," Harley smiled, brushing Harry's hair away from his head and kissing his scar.

—**HJH—**

"What in particular caused tonight's injuries, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked, eying the large bruise that covered the younger man's chest.

"This boy that appears to be running around with Joker," Bruce replied, gently pressing an icepack to his chest, "He did something that blasted me off my feet, nearly knocked me out too."

"A child in the company of the Joker? That quite out of character for him, is it not?" Alfred remarked, handing over a glass of water and some pain relievers.

"There might be a good reason for it. The boy was dressed in a fashion that combines both Joker and Harley Quinn's outfits and he looked like a miniaturized version of the Joker, even had his green hair and eyes," Bruce said, not liking the implications of what he had seen, albeit briefly, about the boy in question.

"Are you implying, sir, that the boy might be Joker's biological son?" Alfred stated, shocked.

"The evidence, which at the moment all seems coincidental, seems to point to that, but it's not concrete. For all I know, Joker could have kidnapped the boy at a young age and manipulated him into believing that he was a good influence, and dyed the boy's hair for good measure," Bruce rationalized.  
"And if the boy actually is of Joker's blood?"

"We hope that he isn't as insane as Joker is, or else Gotham might end up with _two_ Jokers wreaking havoc," Bruce said, not liking the image the statement brought to mind.


	6. First Friend and Lesson

Harry appreciated the slight breeze that ruffled his hair, which was in its natural coloring, as he was hidden on a random rooftop. While he was tempted to take off the filtration mask he had started wearing after the 'incident' on his birthday, his paranoia over the chance that Scarecrow could suddenly show up again and gas him won out and he kept it in place. Harley had told him that there was no way that Scarecrow would be up any about anytime soon, but it was better to be safe than sorry, even if he was being overly cautious. He adjusted the goggles on his face, getting used to the feel of them since he had only gotten them back the day before, and tugging on a strap slightly to loosen it a bit. He stood up and stretched his arms, glancing to the side slightly and seeing Ivy's current greenhouse of residence, which he had just left to see what plant she had decided to give him. It was called a Dragon Tree, and while it usually grew quite slowly on its own, Ivy had given it a slight growth boost, and it was almost as tall as himself. One thing that he found very interesting was the sap that it produced could be refined, through ways only Ivy seemed to know, into an all-purpose healing agent. Harry cast one more look at the greenhouse before switching his hair to green and jumping off the building, sprinting across rooftops, loving the freedom that nighttime gave him to practice his abilities just out of plain site of Gotham's citizens. He decided to slow down a bit, he had a lesson with Mr. Freeze in an hour or so but he did not feel like arriving ridiculously early and wondered how to spend the extra time when he nearly collided into another costumed figure, but what surprised him was that the person was not that much bigger than himself.  
"Watch where you're going!" Harry said.

'_Keep your guard up, this one is an unknown to us.'_

"I could say the same about you," The boy replied, "Never seen you around before, I guess you're new to town?"

"Not exactly, been here a few months but I don't get out much," Harry responded. 'Anything dangerous about him?'

'_Other than the fact that he is slightly armed, there is not much else. But remember, there is not much to you so be careful.'_

"Guess there should be introductions, I'm Robin," he said, holding out a hand to shake.

"…isn't that a girl name?" Harry asked.

"It's not my real name!" Robin snapped, "I can't just give out my real name when I'm out like this."  
Harry shrugged his shoulders, "I can understand that, but still, Robin is a dumb name to go by."  
"What's yours then?" Robin asked, irritated.

"Prank," Harry responded.

"That's not better than mine!" Robin argued.

"At least it's not a girl's name," Harry teased.

'_Stop this now, you are acting like a five year old.' _

'Joker must be rubbing off on me.'

'_Unfortunately.'_

"I didn't have much of a choice," Robin replied.

Harry shrugged before digging into a random pocket, "Want a cookie? I got a bunch in one of these pockets."

"No thanks," Robin answered, "I have to get going, see you around maybe?"

"Maybe, but I usually don't stay in one spot too long," Harry said, as the two went their separate ways. As he leaped across rooftops, he could not stop the smile that appeared.

'_What is that smile for?' _

"I don't know, I just feel good."

'_I just hope that good mood persists when you arrive for your lessons.' _

Harry laughed slightly, doing a series of flips as he went, "I'm pretty sure it will, and what's the worst that could happen when Freeze starts teaching?"

'_He could encase you in a block of ice.' _

"Not if he wants Joker, mum, or Ivy on his tail."

'…_good point.' _

"Besides, it might be fun to learn something new."

—**HJH—**

Harry laid his head down on the table that was a stand-in for a desk, to put it simply: his brain hurt.

Mr. Freeze looked down at Harry's head and commented, "Maybe I should have started with something simpler?"

"You think?" Harry answered, barely lifting his head off the table, "What convinced you to start with how to build a giant freeze ray and to talk about how it all works. My brain feels like it's about to explode! …and don't say that's impossible, because I don't feel like arguing what is or isn't possible."

Mr. Freeze held up his hands in slight surrender, "I suppose that will be enough for today. Next time, we'll start on something easier."

Harry let out a vague sound of agreement, head still down, "I would be thankful for that."

'_I believe you jinxed yourself when you thought it would be interesting to learn.' _

"Shut up Prank, my headache is bad enough without you making it worse."


	7. This is Halloween

A/N: ...I hate fasting.

Harry: Well, that's a little better than the RENT insanity.

Easy for you to say! -twitches-

Harley: You okay?

Yes...just hungry...bring me Nutter Butters or I will torture you with a spork! -cackles-

Joker: ...did she accidentally inhale Joker Gas?

* * *

Since his birthday, Harry had been the lookout for a few of their plans and, on one occasion, distracted Batman enough to help them getaway: he had accidentally pushed over some crates and they had almost landed on top of Batman. Joker seemed to be in an extremely good mood, causing Harry to ask why.

"It's Halloween!" Joker said, happily, "People running around in costumes, scaring people, and not to mention free candy!"

"So, it's like things normally are around here?" Harry questioned.

"Not exactly; nearly all of Gotham, at least the kids, dress up for this night and just go crazy and you'd be surprised at what you can get away with on this night because no one knows who you really are!" Joker responded, practically bouncing off the walls with excitement.

"Honestly, what's different about tonight than any other night? It still sounds exactly the same to me," Harry commented. Joker glared at him, although its effectiveness was reduced by the fact he was pouting, and stormed off. "What's his problem?" _'I believe he is mad about your lack of enthusiasm for the holiday.' _"But I was speaking truthfully; it's just like any regular day around here." _'I think that it is the principle of the thing that counts.'_

"What are you two arguing about now?" Harley asked.

"About whether Halloween is different than a normal day for us," Harry answered.

"It's usually different because Puddin' seems to have a lot of fun, more than usual, on this day. I don't know why, but what ever makes him happy is fine by me," Harley responded.

"Is there anything you're supposed to do on this day?" Harry questioned.

"Dress up in costumes and go around to people's houses to ask for candy…and when you get a house that doesn't give you anything you're supposed to get back by either TP'ing, egging, or doing both to it," Harley replied.

"Maybe the reason I don't get why he likes this day so much is because I never went out on this day?" Harry commented.

"You never went trick-or-treating on Halloween?"

"No, my aunt and uncle just stuck me in the cupboard when night fell so no one would see me," Harry answered, noting the angered look on Harley's face, "Don't even think about it; remember that they live practically on the other side of the world."

"I know, I know," Harley sighed.

"…how about we go out and have some fun, all three of us?" Harry offered, "You and Joker might have to wear different costumes so you don't get arrested." Harry might be a child but he knew that both of them were criminals, as was Ivy and the other costume wearers that he had befriended, but he really could not care less, because Harley was his mother now and he would never do anything to betray her or, by extension, Joker.

"I'm sure we got plenty of extra stuff lying around, I think you'll be fine in your usual thing. I don't think that you've been seen in the news yet, so you should be safe," Harley commented before digging through a box of spare disguises, "Puddin' put a costume on, we're going trick-or-treating!"

Harry found it amusing what their choices in costumes were: Harley had chosen to dress up as a cop and was unrecognizable without her make up on and Joker had decided to go around as character from a comic he had read.

"Can you even see through the eyeholes in that thing?" Harry asked, "Also, are those knives real?

"I can see pretty well, for the most part. And yes, the knives are real, you never know what you might run into on this night," Joker commented, adjusting his hat and cloak around him, his entire outfit was black, save for the mask which was predominately white with accents of black and a hint of red to it, and he wore a dark colored wig to hide his green hair, "Harley, you might have to guide me a bit, my field of vision isn't that wide."

"I don't mind, Puddin'," Harley smiled, holding onto Joker's arm while Harry smirked at them.

—HJH—

Harry smiled, he finally recognized the appeal of this day, "I can't believe how much candy I got!"

"Don't go eating it all yourself, I want some," Joker commented.

"I won't," Harry promised. _'Glad you changed your mind about this day?' _'Yep, this is a lot of fun!' He then noticed a small group of children around his age being frightened by one who was much larger and older than them. Watching the scene made him remember being bullied by Dudley and how he felt helpless. He handed his bag to Joker and started walking over to the older boy, "I'll be right back, and get ready to run."

The boy turned and sneered at Harry, "What do you want, shorty?"

"Leave them alone," Harry stated.

"Or what?"

Harry sighed and pulled a gas capsule out of a pocket, "I tried to give you a chance, and you wasted it." He grabbed the older boy's shirt, pulled him down to his level, and smashed the capsule into his face, making sure none of the younger kids breathed it in. He dropped the boy to the ground and ran back to Harley and Joker for all of them to make a quick getaway.

"What'd you do that for, hun?" Harley asked when they were several blocks away.

"I got bullied by my cousin, and I don't like it happening to other people…I guess I didn't really think it through," Harry explained staring at his shoes.

Harley and Joker shared a quick look before he ruffled Harry's hair, "Hey, wanna egg some cars? It's also good practice for you."

Harry looked up and, though they could not see it, they could tell that he was smiling, "Sure, I bet I can hit more than both of you together!"

—HJH—

'I think I'm lost.' _'You should not have run off like that.' _'Guess I got caught up in the fun.' Harry sat down and allowed his hair to change back as he took a break. _'Harry, look up, a familiar face. And no, it is not just someone in a costume; he is the same one that you met a while back.'_ Harry looked up and saw Robin edge of the roof above him, "Hey Robin, down here!"

Robin looked down and saw Harry waving at him, motioning him to come down, "Hi Prank, enjoying yourself?"

"Yeah, it's been fun getting candy, scaring people, oh, and egging cars!" Harry said, enthusiastically.

"Egging cars?" Robin replied, with an arch of an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it was a competition and I won," Harry commented, oblivious to the fact that what he did was technically vandalism, "Want some candy? I think I have way too much."

Robin took a few pieces of chocolate to eat later, "You out here alone or you with someone?"

"My mom and I guess you could call him her boyfriend," Harry answered, knowing that it would not be a good idea to say who he actually lived with, "I got separated from them a little while ago, but I should find them soon…or at least hear them."

"Alright, and have a happy Halloween," Robin said, taking off.

"You too!" Harry called out, watching him take off. 'Hey Prank, you think you can locate mum and Joker?' _'I shall try.'_ He felt Prank's comforting presence at his back fade away and glimpsed him float above the rooftops. _'They are several blocks in that direction, and you had best hurry. Harley is looking exceedingly panicked and will start drawing attention to them both soon.' _'Thanks a lot Prank!' Harry started running in the direction Prank had pointed and smiled when he felt Prank at his back again. _'You are welcome.' _

The moment Harley saw Harry, she pulled him into a bruising hug, "I thought that something bad had happened to you!"

"Mum, you do remember that I'm armed and can hold my own against most adults, right?" Harry commented.

"That doesn't mean I don't have to worry," Harley responded.

Harry nodded in agreement before yawning loudly, "What time is it?"

"Time for bed, apparently," Joker stated.

"I don't wanna sleep, I want more candy," Harry said, nearly falling over.

Joker caught him and picked him up, "Let's get going, Harley. Kid's almost out like a light."

"Mailbox, right behind you," Harry mumbled.

Joker wondered what Harry meant before he backed up into a mailbox, "How'd you do that?"

"Prank told me," Harry muttered finally nodding off.

"Let's be glad he didn't eat any candy, he would've been running around for hours," Harley commented.

"Good point…Harley, can you guide me? The mask slipped and I can't fix it," Joker asked.

"No prob, Mista J," Harley said, holding onto a shoulder.

* * *

A/N: The poll for which Robin to use is still up, but most likely he might end up resembling a combination of those from the cartoons that I've watched. On another note, I might end up combining different versions of various characters into what I use in this story. So if parts of a character's persona are familiar and some aren't, sorry about that. But take solace in the fact I won't use anything from the campy shows...not that I've seen them...to my knowledge at least.

One more thing, cookies to anyone who can guess where the chapter title came from and what Joker's costume was!


	8. Chapter 8

Harry stared out of the small window of his room to watch the snow slowly trickle down before turning towards the pad of paper before him and let out a noise of annoyance as he crumpled up a piece of paper he had been writing on and tossing it away. _'What is the matter?' _"I'm trying to figure out what Joker would like for Christmas, but nothing sounds right!" He sighed before standing up and pulling on his mask and straitjacket, making sure the clasps and buckles securing it to his body were fastened. _'Going out?' _"Yeah, I need to clear my head and maybe play in the snow a bit." He made sure to tell Harley he was going out, Joker was locked in his room either planning future schemes or how to mess with Batman, or both since they usually went hand-in-hand. He smiled as he watched the snowflakes before setting off at a pace slower than usual, Harley would not like it if he accidentally slipped and hurt himself. She would most likely confine him to his room for a few days to keep him out of trouble, but like the Joker when he was at Arkham, he could leave whenever he wished. _'Snow hides everything…' _"What do you mean?" _'Snow covers everything; it hides an object's true self from others. Take Gotham for example: normally it is very bleak and dangerous, but when covered in snow, it appears peaceful and safe.' _"Is it like how I hide behind the goggles, mask, and a straitjacket?" _'Maybe, maybe not __because__ you seem more at ease while __**in**__ costume than when you are wearing regular clothing.' _"Maybe because most of the people I know go around like this, so it's natural to me?" _'That could be true.'_

Several minutes later, Harry halted when he noticed a snow-covered park. He smiled as he made his way over to it, flopped onto the ground and quickly made a snow angel. "Maybe I should've brought mum along." _'That would have been ill advised, especially if she were __**in**__ costume.' _"But what about out of costume?" _'I am not sure in that regard.' _

"Who're you talking to?" a voice broke in.

Harry jumped and found the source of the sound: a person, a bit shorter than himself meaning they were most likely a child, standing near him. The only feature he could make out distinctly, since most of their features were obscured by the clothing they wore, was the person's silver colored eyes, "I was talking to no one."

"Then who's that?" the person asked, pointing over Harry's shoulder where Prank's spiritual form was floating, causing both Prank's and Harry's eyes to widen in surprise.

Harry looked from the person to Prank and back, "You can see him?"

"Yes, am I not supposed to?" The person asked, head tilted to the side slightly.

"Well, no one else has," Harry replied honestly. _"Introductions, Harry." _"Oh yeah, I'm Harry and this is Prank, he's like me but he's a bit annoying." _"And here I though__**t**__ you enjoyed my company."_

The person laughed, "You can call me Luna."

"That's a unique name," Harry commented, "I think it means moon or something, right?"

"That's right," Luna smiled and asked, "Are you visiting from overseas?"

"No, why do you ask?" Harry inquired.

"Your accent isn't American," Luna replied simply, "How long have you been living here, then?"

"Almost a year now, minus a few months," Harry answered.

"Then why do you still have an accent?" Luna responded, tilting her head again.

Harry shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, maybe it's because Prank took the American one?"

Luna smiled, "I have to go back to my parents, but we'll be around here at least until New Years, we're trying to find something. Maybe we'll meet up again?"

"You never know," Harry replied before the two parted ways. _'…you __**like**__ her.'_ "She's nice." _'I meant that you like her in a thinned version of how your mother likes Joker.' _"Wait, what? No way! Ew, eww!" Harry traveled along a bit longer before stopping again; he looked around and noticed the zoo when an idea popped into his head of the best gift that he could possibly get Joker. He most likely would have to get some help to accomplish what he had just thought up, but it would be worth it to see what Joker's reaction would be.

—**HJH—**

Harry tried not to laugh as he felt a wet sensation across his cheek, "Cut that out, I don't want to accidentally give you away before Joker sees you guys." A series of low chuckles responded.

'_Are you __**sure**__ that this was a wise idea?'_

"No, but they're fairly appropriate, aren't they?"

'_Harry, look-'_ Harry suddenly pitched forward as he was suddenly tackled by two bodies, their owners proceeding to lick the exposed skin on his forehead and around his neck. "Stop, ha-ha, that tickles!"

"Hun, you okay?" Harley called through the door.

"I'm, stop that, just having a bit of trouble with Joker's gift, but I'm okay!" Harry answered, pushing the bodies away, "Is he ready?"

"Yeah, he's got the blindfold and earmuffs on, just like you asked," Harley replied.

"Bring him in then," Harry pushed one of the bodies back when it tried to get closer, "Seriously, stop that. You can have more fun when you see who I got you for."

Harley led Joker in the room, his hands in front of himself to make sure he did not bump into anything, "What did you guys get me that I have to put this stuff on me?"

"It's special, and it was Harry's idea to get it," Harley explained.

"What?" Joker replied, "I had no idea what you just said."

"Just take those off him mum, I can't wait to see how he reacts…stop licking my neck!" Harry laughed.

Harley pulled off the blindfold and earmuffs and Joker blinked slightly to get used to the light before fixing his gaze onto Harry and to what was next to him, "Are those…?"

"Hyenas, we got them from the zoo. Do you like them? …stop licking me already!" Harry said, to which the creatures laughed at him, "They laugh almost as much as you do, at least." The two hyenas looked at each other before bounding over and tackling Joker to the floor, all of them cackling with laughter.

"I think they like him," Harley commented with a smile. Harry nodded his head in agreement, laughing as well.

"I'll call them Bud and Lou," Joker remarked, scratching them behind the ears, "How did you get them exactly?"

"It's a bit of a confusing plan but it involved some really big fish, Joker Gas, spray-paint, mum helping out a bit, and a couple of rubber chickens…remind me to tell you the whole story later," Harry explained before asking, "Why did you choose those names?"

"Because of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, the comedians!" Joker answered as if it should have been obvious, causing Harry and Harley to smile. Gifts were passed out soon after. From Harley, Joker got a black and purple jesters outfit that he quickly put on under threats from both her Harry, "This thing's giving me a wedgie."

"Me and mum wear them all the time and you don't hear us complaining," Harry stated, receiving a look from Joker.

"Just shut up," Joker grumbled, pulling on the outfit while handing a box to Harley.

Harley ripped off the purple wrapping paper, which had little bombs on it, opened the box and let out a squeal of delight, bowling over Joker in a rough hug, "I love it!"  
Harry looked into the box and let out a small laugh, Harley had received a plushy doll of Joker as well as a few different outfits to change him into, "Looks like you made a good choice."  
"Didn't he?" Harley smiled and handed Harry a box that was haphazardly wrapped in green and red paper as Joker handed over one decorated in the same purple and bomb laden paper.

Harry happily opened the gifts to reveal some toys, and realized that he did not really care about them. He remembered that he used to be jealous seeing all the toys that Dudley would receive in the past, but now, he could not care less, "They're great, thanks."

Harley noted the lack of enthusiasm in his voice, "What's the matter, hun? Be honest about it."

"Before I met you guys, I would've been happy about getting toys for myself, but…" Harry started before trailing off.

"But what, kiddo?" Joker asked.

"I'm happy with what I already have, you guys. I'm fine with the fact that I finally have what I always wanted: a mum and dad you love me," Harry smiled widely before realizing that he had called Joker 'dad' and quickly grew embarrassed.

Harley hugged Harry gently, "Not need to act like that, hun. I love being your mom."

"I know that, but I didn't really mean to say the last part out loud," Harry admitted, blushing.

Joker sat silently for a moment before reaching out and patting Harry on the head, "I guess you can call me that, but it doesn't mean I'll get used to it right away."

Harry smiled, "If you don't mind it…"

"Will just take some time for me to get comfortable getting called that," Joker admitted. The mood was abruptly broken by Bud and Lou jumping onto them, cackling and licking anything they could reach.

'_I __**still**__ think getting those was a __**bad**__ idea…' _

"Shut it Prank!"


	9. Chapter 9

Harry skipped along, jumping into puddles of semi-melted snow. 'As much as I like the stuff, snow gets boring after a while.'

'_Be glad that it is m__elting__ fairly __**quick**__ly.'_

'…why are you talking different?'

'_I am not __**quite**__ sure. Maybe Joker's chemicals are __affecting__ me. By the way, I __**see**__ Luna to your left. I believe that____she is keeping an eye out for __**you**__.' _

Harry turned and saw Luna idly standing under the bare branches of a tree, a pair of adults not too far off. He smiled to himself as he made his way over to her, "Hiya, Luna."

Luna turned and grinned, "Hi Harry, I'm glad I we met up again."

"Did you think I was going to disappear forever?" Harry joked.

"No, unless you were attacked by a Blibbering Humdinger," Luna responded.

"…a what?" Harry asked in bewilderment.

"A Blibbering Humdinger, they have the ability to make people invisible by biting them," Luna cheerfully explained before handing him a small object, that could only be described as a fuzzy radish with a clip attached, "That'll keep different creatures away from you and make you smarter. You can clip that to your ear, if you want."

"Uh…thanks," Harry responded.

'_Give her something in re__**turn**__, you dolt.'_

Harry patted his pockets for something before pulling out one of his cards and carefully gave it to Luna, "Be careful of the edges, they're sharp."

"Thank you Harry," Luna said, "I have to get going, but I know we'll meet again."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked, putting the radish into a pocket.

Luna gave a smile, "It's a feeling I have, and I'm usually right about my feelings."

"Luna, we have to get going!" a woman's voice called out.

"That's my mum. Bye Harry, I can't wait to see you again. And if you're in England, anytime, try and see me. We live in Ottery St. Catchpole in Devon near the River. Just look for the house that looks like a rook." Luna bid Harry farewell before skipping back to her parents, giving both a hug.

'_She is __**quite**__ the odd person, is she not?' _

'Did you have to ruin the mood?' Harry sarcastically thought before pulling the radish back out and clipping it onto his right ear.

'_You like her more than you let on, __bec__ause you are actually __**wearin**__**g**__ that.'_

"Just shut it."

After stopping by Ivy's greenhouse to take care of her plants because she had the unfortunate luck of being caught several days ago, Harry eventually made his way home where his new accessory caught Harley's eye.

"Hun, where'd you get that thing?" Harley questioned, taking a closer look, "And why does it look like a furry radish?"

"I got it from this girl I met," Harry answered honestly.

"Really? What's her name, can I meet her?" Harley asked eagerly.

"Her name's Luna and she's leaving to go back home… she lives in England, which is where I came from. It's surprising that she came from there too, what are the odds of that?" Harry explained, "And I don't know why it's shaped like it is."

"Sounds like little Harry has a girlfriend!" Joker teased before collapsing into laughter, which Bud and Lou happily joined.

"No I don't!" Harry argued, trying to hide his embarrassment.

'_De__**nial**__, it is more than a river in Egypt.'_

"What the heck is that supposed to even mean?"

"Stop that, both of you," Harley interrupted, "Don't make fun of Harry about that… I think it's rather cute."

"Don't call me cute!" Harry yelled, running off to his room and slamming the door.

"…he needs to lighten up, learn to take a joke," Joker stated, patting Bud and Lou on their heads.

—HJH—

Harley quietly let herself into Harry's room, which contained only a small amount of things besides the bed and a small dresser with regular clothing. She spotted Harry flopped onto his bed, his back to her. "Hey hun, you still mad at us?"

"What do you think?" Harry's muffled voice responded.

"We weren't doing it to be mean, we were only having a bit of fun," Harley explained.

"I still didn't like it," Harry said, sitting up and facing her.

"It's what parents do, we embarrass our kids," Harley said with a smile as she sat on the bed and ruffled Harry's hair.

"Hey, I just got that the way I wanted!" Harry complained, trying to fix it but smiling nevertheless.

"If you're up to it, Joker's planning a bank heist and may just let you actually help in it, and not as a lookout," Harley said, enjoying the look on Harry's face.

"Really? I can help out with the actual crime this time?" Harry replied, excited.

"Yep, do you think you're up to it?"

Harry nodded eagerly, "Yeah, I know I am! I can't wait!"

—HJH—

"Alright, since it's your first big crime, kiddo, we're going to hit a normal bank," Joker stated, several days after informing Harry that this would be his first time out.

"A 'normal' bank?" Harry asked, with a confused tilt of his head.

"One that isn't used by what's left of the mafia that used to run Gotham before the rest of us showed up," Harley explained.

"…there used to be mafia people here?" Harry half asked half stated.

"Yeah, but we drove most of them out," Joker responded, "Now, back to the plan and no interruptions!"

They hit the bank half an hour before it was time to close. They went around and rounded up all of the customers that were there, the bank tellers and the manager too, all were stunned at the fact that a child was gleefully assisting two infamous criminals. One customer, acted out, attempted to try and take Harry captive to convince Harley and Joker to let them go, but his plan was destroyed when Harry promptly kicked the man in the groin and burst a capsule in his face. Harry silently landed on a table and watched the man collapse into jerking fits of laughter. As the remaining hostages stared at him in fear, Harry noticed a remaining bank teller attempt to press a silent alarm and acted quickly; leaping off the table, landing on the counter in front of the man, and kicking him in the head. "I don't want to go to jail or juvie right after my first crime."

"Nice hit hun, you booted him right in the head," Harley remarked scooping him up into a hug.

"Could the showing of love wait until we get home, mum?" Harry remarked, unknowingly drawing incredulous looks from their hostages.

"Prank is right, Harley. No time for hugs and things, we still have stuff to steal," Joker said, "Besides, Basty might show up soon."

'_Which is about now.'_

'How do you know that?'

'_Everyone sends off, the only way to describe it, waves or pulses. I noted what kind the Bat had for future reference.'_

"The Bat is nearby," Harry informed.

"Already? Either his toys are getting faster or he's psychic," Joker remarked, "Well… I guess it's an added bonus to your first heist, kiddo."

"Duck and cover, hun, things might get a bit dangerous," Harley said, handing Harry what looked like a shotgun with a boxing glove attached and pushing him to hide behind a bank counter.

Harry peeked over the counter, watching as Batman appeared and confronted Harley and Joker, his grip tightening on the weapon. He quietly crept onto the counter, making sure no one noticed him and readied his weapon, taking aim at Batman's back when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye and grinned, it was just too tempting to resist. He took aim again, smiling widely as he triggered the weapon, sending the boxing glove at its target and yelling out with glee, "Blue punch buggy!"

Batman was bowled over and crashed into a counter; Harry was nearly knocked off his own counter by the force of the recoil but caught himself quickly. Joker looked at Harry and arched an eyebrow, "…'Blue punch buggy'?"

Harry shrugged sheepishly and pointed outside where a broken down blue Volkswagen Beetle sat, "I couldn't resist saying it."

Joker ruffled Harry's hair, "It was pretty funny and you timed it perfectly too."

"Guys, I think it's time to leave," Harley cut in, hearing sirens outside as Batman started to get to his feet.

"Well, it's been fun Bats. Thanks for showing up for the kid's first bank heist, you made this a really special occasion," Joker laughed as the three of them made their escape.

As they ran, Harry saw something, a person, aiming to take down Harley and acted; barreling into them and flinging them to the side. It was then he noticed who the person was, "Robin, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same, why are you helping out those insane criminals?" Robin asked, getting up.

"Don't call my parents insane!" Harry yelled, surprising Robin with both his words and the kick he delivered.

'D-did he just call them his parents?' Robin thought as he was hit in the face, he hesitated a moment before reacting and trying to hit Harry back. Harry dodged the hit and fought back, punching and kicking. He kept ducking down low and crouching on the ground to avoid getting hit and to try to strike back. "Stay still you stupid monkey!"

"Not in a million years, bird-boy," Harry spat trying to take out Robin's knees to at least temporarily unbalance him. _'_

_Do what you did to the __**Bat**__, but focus it into only __**one**__ hand and then punch __**him**__.'_

Harry did as Prank suggested and with his next punch, sent Robin crashing into a dumpster. He stared at Robin's prone form before moving off, quickly joining up with Harley and Joker.

"Where'd you disappear too, kid?" Joker asked as Harry jumped into the getaway car.

"I was distracted by a bird," Harry remarked, buckling himself in and growing silent.

Harley and Joker shared a look before they drove off. When they got back to one of their hideouts, Harry immediately went to the room that was designated as his without saying a word.

"What's wrong with him?" Joker asked, scratching his head in confusion, "I thought he would've been happy pulling off his first major crime."

"I'll check on him," Harley offered, "Harry, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Harry muttered, sitting sullenly on the bed, straitjacket removed and tossed aside.

"Doesn't seem like that, hun. Tell me, please?" Harley begged.

"…it's Robin…" Harry quietly replied.

"Did he do anything to you? I'll get him back if he did!" Harley offered, "Wait, how do you know that little pest?"

"I met him a while back, sometime after my birthday," Harry sadly stated before he started to cry, "He… he was the first person my age that I thought was a friend, but I guess he's not."

The two of them sat there a moment, Harry's sobs echoing in the room, before Harley pulled him into a warm embrace, "It's okay, hun, its okay…"

—HJH—

"Will you stop fidgeting? Unless you want me to bandage your head instead of your chest, Master Dick?" Alfred said, jokingly.

"Sorry, Alfred. Ow, but it starts stinging badly when you start to wrap it," Dick Grayson replied, wincing slightly, "I ran into that kid you said that was around Joker… right before we started fighting, he called both of them his parents…"

"That also goes along with some of the witnesses said; that 'Prank', apparently that's his moniker, referred to Harley as his mother," Bruce stated with a sigh.

"So, he actually is their kid?" Dick replied with a shocked look, "When I first met him—"

"You ran into him before and you didn't tell me?" Bruce stated, giving Dick a stern look.

"I didn't really know that he was with the Joker, and I didn't connect him with that kid you talked about because at the time since his hair was black," Dick answered.

"Did you run into him more than once?" Bruce asked.

"Only twice, in total. The first time was around during the beginning of August and the second was during Halloween; he was out trick-or-treating, I think Joker and Harley Quinn might have been wandering around in costume too, since he mentioned he was out with them. He seemed so… ordinary," Dick replied, wondering if he should mention that the boy he met showed no signs of criminal actions save for admitting to egging a car.

"Appearances can be deceiving," Bruce stated.

The weeks following the heist found Harry in a bad mood and unwilling to participate in anything that Joker or Harley planned, not even wanting to be a lookout. One evening found Harry in the care of Riddler, or Uncle Riddles as Harry had dubbed him, while Joker and Harley did another crime, what it actually was he did not really remember. After a failed lesson, where Harry basically ignored him, Riddler just let Harry goof around until he was to be picked up.

Riddler watched Harry flip around the room, practicing his skills, before commenting, "You know the way you fight looks similar to Monkey—"

Harry cut him off by throwing cards at him, "Don't call me a monkey!"  
"I wasn't!" Riddler retorted, having just barely dodged the projectiles, "What I was saying, before you rudely interrupted me, is that your style of fighting seems to draw comparison to Monkey Kung Fu or Capoeira."

"…are you just making those up?" Harry asked, doubtfully.

"No, they're both real. Both of them use a lot of acrobatic movements as well as kicks, which you seem to use a lot," Riddler stated, "Since you were taught only by Harley and yourself, you just took what you know and ran with it, so you really don't have a set style to how you fight."

"That would explain why Bird-boy called me a monkey… do you know anything else?" Harry questioned, curious to find out more.

"No, but that's what the internet is for!" Riddler announced.

Several hours later, which were filled with visits to various websites to discover more information, lead to them finding out more about both fighting styles and also discovering a humorous skit detailing the misfortunes of a class of martial artists being soundly beaten by their teacher, who was trained in the art of "Ti Kwan Leep". After watching the skit, they spent roughly twenty minutes yelling: "Boot to the head!" and attempting to do just that; Harry actually trying to accomplish it and Riddler missing on purpose for the main reason that he would most likely get his ass kicked and/or maimed by both Joker and Harley if he actually hit Harry.

"What in the world are you doing?" a voice asked in amusement.

Both Harry and Riddler looked up quickly. Harry became unbalanced at the movement, because one leg had been in the air at the time, and fell over with a yelp. From his position on the floor Harry saw a woman wearing a black, sleek catsuit, which seemed to have a pair of small pointed ears on the head, and she had a whip attached to her in a way that made her seem as if she was sporting a tail.

"We were practicing Ti Kwan Leep," Harry stated, sitting up, "Who're you?"

"Just call me Catwoman, cutie," she stated, winking slightly before turning to Riddler, "Edward, I need some info."

"The usual sort of cat things?" Riddler asked, "Depends on what you pay me."

Catwoman tossed over a small bag that made small clinking noises as it sailed through the air, "A few leftovers from the last one, nothing I really like."

Riddler opened the bag, checking its contents, "I think there may be some items of interest coming in sometime this month or next, let me double check."

Catwoman turned to Harry and gave him a smile, "And who would you be?"

"Prank," Harry answered, not sure if he could trust her with his real name.

"I think I've heard of you… you were in newspaper recently for helping out Joker and Harley Quinn, right?" Catwoman responded.

"Why wouldn't I help them out? Wait, I was in the newspaper?" Harry said, surprised.

"You caused quite a stir because you held your own and for knocking Batman off his feet too," Catwoman stated, "That's impressive for someone your size."

Harry blushed slightly as Riddler came back with some papers in hand, "Here you go, a list of anything you might be tempted to steal, where their locations should be, and when they'd arrive there."

While Catwoman took the papers and looked through them, Harry felt the need to ask, "So… why did you choose cats for your costume?"

"Well, originally I wore a simple outfit for burglaries but when the papers started labeling be something along the lines of the 'Cat Cat Burglar' I decide to go with it, it helps that I like cats a lot too," she explained before coming down to Harry's height, "And is there a real name behind 'Prank' or is it your actual name?"

"…it's Harry, Harry Potter," he stated.

"Nice to meet you Harry, real name's Selina Kyle," she stated as she messed up Harry's hair, "Thanks for the info, Eddie."

"Don't call me that," Riddler declared, annoyed.

"What ever you say… Eddie," Catwoman teased before leaving.

"Hey, Uncle Riddles, how many are there of us running around Gotham?" Harry asked sometime after Catwoman had left.

"You're asking how many costumed villains there are?" Riddler responded to which Harry nodded, "Well, there's quite a long list but off the top of my head, excluding the ones that you already know: Bane, Clayface (but I think that he's been at least two different people), Deadshot, Hush, Killer Croc, Zsasz, and Penguin. I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of anyone else at the moment."

"…do you have a list that you memorize or something?" Harry deadpanned, "Because that sounded like you practiced a lot."  
"I did not memorize it!" Riddler retorted before crumbling to the way Harry was staring at him, "Well, maybe a little… okay, a lot."


	10. Chapter 10

'Prank, try and see if you can track down Bird-boy.'

'_Any par__**tic**__ular reason?'_

'I wanna fight him again, that's all.'

'…_he is a few blocks to your right, not really noticing his surroundings.' _

'Good, then I can sneak up on him.' Harry set off in the direction Prank had indicated, moving silently, keeping his eyes and ears out for any sudden movements or sounds. He grinned wickedly under his mask as he found Robin and got the drop on him, promptly kicking him in the head and landing on all fours. "Surprise, Bird-boy!"

Robin growled as he fought back, landing a few blows before Harry jumped away and hung upside-down from a pipe, "Stay still!"  
"The only way I'll stay still is if you knock me out, Bird-boy," Harry chuckled before hooting like a monkey to annoy Robin more. He flipped himself right way up and hopped off the pipe, avoiding being hit in the head by Robin's bo staff, grasping it with one hand while attempting to punch Robin in the face with the other.

Robin jerked his head back enough that he was only grazed, yanked his staff out of Harry's hand, and backed up, "Why do you help those two?"

Harry crouched down low and tilted his head quizzically, "Why, you ask? Because they're my family, simple as that; even if you're poor and you have nothing, you have family."

"They're still criminals!" Robin attempted to fight back in his anger but Harry quickly knocked him off his feet and pinned him down with his own staff.

"I don't care; they're my mum and dad, that's all I care about," Harry stated as he choked Robin slightly before tilting his head inquiringly, "I guess I should ask why you help the Bat… is he special to you? Is he your dad or something like that? If he is, you don't have the right to tell me what I'm doing is wrong, because you helping him like how I'm helping them!"

Robin stilled at Harry's words, drawing a comparison to things Joker would often say to Batman; how they were similar. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not notice Harry pulling out a gas capsule until it was too late and it had burst in his face, sending him into uncontrollable laughter.

"Don't worry, it's a reduced version of what dad and mum use, you'll be fine in about ten minutes," Harry stated while playing with Robin's staff and accidentally learning how to collapse it into a more portable form, "I think I'll keep this, a memento of our dead friendship." Harry left Robin on that rooftop and he sprinted off, grinning manically. _'That was __**very**__ impressive, attacking him both mentally __**and**__ physically.'_

'I was winging it, to tell the truth.'

'_Some times the best plans are the ones you make up as you go.'_

—HJH—

"You seem in a good mood, kiddo," Joker said as he watched Harry practically skip into the room, "Anything special happen?"

Harry smiled before extending the staff to its full length and giving it a slight twirl, "I just got a new toy."

Joker cackled, "Good job, I bet the Birdy was mad!"  
"He thought that it was funny," Harry smirked, knowing that Joker would get his meaning, "Where's mum?"

"I don't know, I think she went over to the Weed's place for a while," Joker replied.

"You mean Aunt Ivy?" Harry questioned, keeping the staff away from Bud and Lou who thought it was a toy.  
"Yeah, she'll be back in a few days… I think," Joker answered, "Want to help me plan the next crime?"

Harry shortened the staff back down, to Bud and Lou's disappointment, and put it away, "No, I think I'll head over to Aunt Ivy's to see how mum's doing… and to find out what you did to send her over there."

"What makes you think I did anything?" Joker asked, to which Harry only responded by putting his hands on his hips, "Okay, maybe I yelled at her a bit for botching up a few things…"  
_'Your mother is mental to stay with him.'_

'You're forgetting how often they're in Arkham, so they have to be slightly insane at least.'

'_**Slightly**__ insane is a bit of an understatement.'_

'I'm starting to think I've gone nuts too.'

'_Living with who are and not to mention your extended __**family**__, I am surprised that you did not admit __it__**sooner**__.'_

Harry sighed and shook his head before filling Bud and Lou's food and water bowls. "See you in a few days, dad." Joker waved Harry off before retreating to his planning room.

—HJH—

Severus Snape was in a foul mood, one worse than normal; he had been pulled from a day of potions making and had traveled to other side of the world on a hunch that the blasted son of James Potter just _might_ be here. "There is no indication that the boy is actually here."

"We must follow what leads we have, Severus. The quill keeps changing his address but the only constant thing is that it lists Gotham as his current town of residence." Albus Dumbledore responded, happy that he had at least narrowed down the location of the Boy-Who-Lived. He pulled out his wand and performed a locator spell, smiling when it got a lock on the person it was searching for, some distance to their right. He then noticed that the wand was slowly creeping to the left, indicating that the target was moving, "We may just find young Harry quicker than I had thought."

Severus rolled his eyes in annoyance, 'The boy must be a complete copy of his father.' They followed the way the wand indicated and eventually found themselves outside a large greenhouse that could almost rival the ones at Hogworts.

"Why would Harry be here?" Dumbledore said out loud, but mainly asking himself.

"Let's just get the boy and leave," Snape said.

—HJH—

Harry smiled as he was scooped up by vines which changed to form a makeshift hammock, "Hey, Aunt Ivy."

"Hey to you too," Ivy said, motioning for the plant to let him down, "I was wondering if you would show up at all when Harley got here without you."

"I was out when she left. I went bird hunting," Harry said with a smile in his voice and pulling out the staff, "Look at the trophy I got from it!"

Ivy stared in surprise at the item he held before smiling, "I guess that it was a very big bird."  
Harry smiled too, knowing that she got the joke, "Yeah, he was almost as big as me, but he was stupid too, that's how I got this."

Ivy laughed before a serious look crossed her face, "Head to the pond, Harry, I believe I have some trespassers."

"I can help!" Harry stated, not moving.

"I know that, but Harley needs your help more and they're in my element, I have the advantage here," Ivy responded, pushing Harry in the direction of the pond which was well protected since surrounding it were some of the more valuable or rarer plants as well as being where Ivy usually rested. Harry gave in and ran off, looking over his shoulder slightly as Ivy prepared to intercept the intruders.

Dumbledore and Snape quietly unlocked the door the greenhouse and entered, taking in the vast amounts of plants that surrounded them.

"Pomona would love this place," Dumbledore commented.

"We are not here for that; let's just find the boy already and leave," Snape responded.

"And which boy would you be talking about?" Ivy asked as she appeared and quickly wrapped them up tightly in vines. She looked took a quick look at their outfits and went on guard, in case they were new villains to Gotham, "I don't like people who come into my greenhouse, uninvited or unwanted." She noted that they were staring at her in shock, "You two look like you've seen a ghost."

"Lily, how is it that you're alive?" Dumbledore asked.

Ivy frowned, "I believe this is a case of mistaken identity. While my middle name was Lillian, I don't know who either of you are."  
"Who are you then?" Snape questioned, attempting to free himself.

"It's not use trying to get free, those vines won't let go unless I tell them too," Ivy responded, having the vines tighten in warning, "And my name is Poison Ivy."

"We're here looking for a young boy, about eight years old. He has black hair and has a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead," Dumbledore explained.

Ivy realized that the description fit Harry when he went around as himself, "What'll you do if you find him?"

"Put him back in the care of his relatives," Dumbledore responded.

Anger coursed through Ivy's veins, she'd heard plenty of things about Harry's relatives through what Harley had told her, and had vowed that if she had ever met them, she would feed them piece by piece to her meat eating plants, "No, he's never going back to those people. You know what they've done to him? He lived almost his whole life in a closet underneath a staircase, never celebrated a birthday or a Christmas before he came here, and when he first arrived, he kept thinking that no one wanted him, that he'd be abandoned!"  
"Boy was most likely exaggerating," Snape muttered under his breath but Ivy heard him.

"No… when Harry first showed up, he was practically incapable of lying. And no child would ever make up a story like that," Ivy stated fixing Snape with a harsh look.

When Ivy's attention was taken off him, Dumbledore quickly used his wand to slice through the vines, which cut into his limbs slightly, and attempted to stun Ivy, but was thwarted when a branch from a large tree swung down and took the hit. He quickly freed Snape the same way, though the vines caused slightly deeper wounds being they were more tightly wrapped around him. "Miss Ivy, we are here to put the boy back with his family, he will be protected—"

"No, he's safe here and well protected. If you take him away, you will bring down the wrath of nearly every villain in Gotham city, not to mention that Joker will make your lives a living hell for taking away what is special to him," Ivy stated, taking a few steps back to try and get out of the range of their spells.

"You don't understand, Harry—" Dumbledore started before being abruptly cut off.

"Did someone mention my name?" Harry butt in, hanging off a tree limb, "If this is a conversation about me, I think I should be in on this."

"They're talking about putting you back with your relatives," Ivy explained.

Harry froze at the announcement for a moment before flipping himself up and crouching on the branch, shaking slightly, "I won't go back, I'm not… I'm not!"

"It's okay, hun," Harley said, landing next to him and comforting him, "Me and Red aren't going to let that happen."

"We made a promise," Ivy added, "Now are you two going to just stand by or are you going to help?"

"Stay here if you're not up to it, hun," Harley said before jumping off the branch.

Harry watched blankly as Harley and Ivy fought and dodged the spells thrown by the two wizards; he snapped out of his daze when he saw a red light hit Harley and she crumpled to the ground. The moment her body touched the ground, Harry immediately jumped into the fray, screaming. Dumbledore and Snape were sent backwards slightly from wave of magic that came off Harry as he crouched next to Harley's unconscious body. "_No _one_**hurts**_my**mum**_!_" He growled as his hair became a combination of black and green, signaling his and Prank's minds merging. What happened next is unclear to all involved, even to Harry and Prank; in the span of several minutes Dumbledore and Snape were chased off, with parts of their clothing on fire or different colors, several panes of glass were either cracked or outright broken, and a few plants had been damaged or shredded. Ivy was a little mad at the harm to the plants, but would not hold it against Harry when she noticed that he has passed out next to Harley, back to his normal self.

—HJH—

Harry woke up and was immediately confused. The room he was in was not one from any hideouts he, Harley, and Joker had nor was it anything that Ivy would have either. The room was sparsely decorated with only the bed he was laying on, a table with objects that he could not make out from his current position, and a plain looking door. He got off the bed and approached the table to see that the objects seemed to be plush dolls and that several were fashioned to look like Harley, Joker, Ivy, Riddler, and Mr. Freeze. There were a few others on the table that seemed half complete with only the basic shape sewn together and only a piece or two of clothing created. 'I wonder who made these? You have any idea, Prank?' Harry was surprised when he did not receive an answer. 'Prank, you there? Hello?' He should have felt nervous without the familiar, yet annoying, voice in the back of his mind but he had a feeling that somehow Prank was nearby. He stared at the door that seemed to lead out of the room for a moment before approaching it and turning the knob. The door led to a hallway that seemed to go on endlessly down either side but on the wall opposite his own door, Harry saw another that had a stylized 'P' on it. He crossed the hallway and opened the door to a room that was completely bare except for a small bed that held an unmoving person whose back was to him. Harry saw the green hair and purple straitjacket to instantly know who it was. "Prank, are you okay!"

With a groan, Prank turned over to lie on his back and stared at Harry from behind his goggles, "I am just **very** tired, the strain of the **forced** merge took a lot out of me and **you** as well."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, sitting at the foot of the bed and facing Prank.

"You are currently out cold because your body is resting to try and regain the energy you put off from when you were protecting Harley," Prank explained as he slowly sat up, "And **before** you ask, we are currently in a portion of your mind that keeps your personality and mine separate… do not ask me to explain, because even what I just said is only a guess."

"How long before I wake up… in the real world I mean," Harry questioned.

Prank shrugged, "I am not sure, it could be a few **hours** or a few **days**… maybe even more."

Harry frowned, "That's going to mess up any plans dad has if it has me in it. How come you didn't hear me when I tried to think to you a little earlier?"

"I guess when in **here** we do not have the connection that we usually do," Prank answered with a shrug.

Harry nodded his head in understanding before taking another look around the room and asking, "Why's there nothing else in here?"

"What do you mean?" Prank responded with a tilt of his head.

"Your room is so empty… but then I'm not one to talk so much about that since the only other thing in my room is a table with some dolls that look like mum, dad, Aunt Ivy, Uncle Riddles, and Mr. Freeze… there are a few others but they look like they're not finished yet… why do you think I have them?" Harry asked.

"Maybe because they are important or very special to **you**," Prank said, "It would make sense that you have something to symbolize that **they** are very precious."

"Then why aren't they in your room too?" Harry questioned, looking around the vacant space.

"Because they, quite honestly, are not all that dear to **me**," Prank responded dismissively, "There is only **one** person that is of value to me, and **they** are sitting at the foot of my bed."

Harry stared at Prank in shock, "Me? You think I'm that special to you?" Prank nodded his head slightly. "Then why don't you have a puppet of me in here?"

Prank smiled, "Why would I need a puppet when I am always close to the real thing?" Harry ducked his head down in embarrassment causing Prank to chuckle, "You best go back to your own room and **rest**; your body will recover the energy lost **quicker** if you do."

"Alright, later Prank," Harry said as he hopped off the bed, left the room and returned to his own. He paused as he climbed back onto his own bed and looked over at the table of dolls; he went over to it, picked up the Harley one, and carried it back to bed, happily hugging it while under the covers.

—HJH—

Harry body slept for a few days, although to him it seemed at the most only a few hours, before he awoke to an ecstatic Harley who hugged him tightly.

"I'm so happy you're awake!" Harley nearly screamed, almost crying tears of joy.

"Mum, you're choking me," Harry coughed.

"Sorry," Harley said as she let him go, "I was scared that you wouldn't wake up."  
"I was just resting, whatever I did made me really tired," Harry responded and noted that they were still in Ivy's greenhouse, "Does dad know about what happened?"

"No… I think he might go on a bit of a rampage when he does though," Harley commented, "I think he'll bring you along to keep an eye on you and to include you in on it."

"…is it going to be a planned rampage or are we just going to go nuts?" Harry asked.

"A little of both?" Harley offered.

Harry shrugged, "I'm fine with that."  
"I heard that you were awake," Ivy remarked, having heard Harley's yelling.

"Yeah… do you know what I did before I passed out?" Harry inquired.

"Not exactly, I only know what the aftermath was: you scared off those two, but not before doing some damage to them, you also destroyed a few plants and a small part of my greenhouse," Ivy replied, "We have to change the bandages now."  
Harry was confused at to what she meant before his hands were pulled out from under the blanket and he saw that both his hands were bandaged, "How'd that happen?"

"Most likely when you went berserk, you used your hands to attack and cause damage, instead of your cards, so they were injured," Ivy explained as she cut off the old bandages, revealing that Harry's hands were covered in cuts.

"I didn't notice that they were messed up," Harry commented as Harley and Ivy wrapped them in new dressings.

"You might want to lay off the handstands and cartwheels for a while," Ivy advised, "That will slow down the healing."

"Okay, Aunt Ivy," Harry responded with a smile.


	11. Joker Family Rampage

Harley and Harry went back to the hideout several days later, to make sure that Harry's hands had healed right, and proceeded to, very carefully, explain to Joker that Harry had been nearly kidnapped. To say that Joker was mad when he heard about what had happened was an understatement; as soon as most of the story was told, he promptly took himself, Harley, and Harry for a night of fun, better known to those not in the family as complete and total chaos.

"Hey dad, are we doing this for any reason other than you wanting to destroy stuff?" Harry asked as he blew up a public mailbox.

"Call it 'family bonding' if you will, kiddo!" Joker answered, cackling manically.

"Works for me!" Harry replied as he ducked as Joker jumped into the car.

"How about we blow up something bigger?" Harley asked, watching the flames through the rearview mirror as they drove off.

"Like what mum?" Harry responded as he threw a handful of gas capsules out the window and into a crowd.

"How about a building?" Joker offered, as Harley ran a red light and caused a few crashes, "Nice timing!"

"Can we really!" Harry said, practically bouncing off of his seat.

"Sure, why not? We just have to get a few supplies and we'll be set!" Joker replied.

"I get to blow up a building; I get to blow up a building!" Harry chanted from the back seat.

'_You are acting __more__ like _**Joker**_…'_

'You say that as if it's a bad thing!'

—HJH—

It took several hours, but things were ready. Joker happily handed the detonator to Harry and just as he was about to push it, they were interrupted when two figures landed near them.

"Batsy, as much fun as it is to play with you, are you really going to mess up the kid's first major explosion?" Joker asked putting a hand on Harry's head.

Harry stared at Robin a moment before commenting, "Hey Bird-brain, thanks for the gift!"  
Batman put a hand on Robin's shoulder to keep him calm before speaking, "Fun's over for all of you."

"I think not," Harley commented, firing a bazooka at the two crime fighters cause them to split up.

"…where'd you get that?" Harry commented.

"I always keep one in the trunk of the car," Harley explained, patting the barrel.

'_Duck!'_ Harry did and avoided being hit by Robin. He jumped back several times and spoke in a condescending tone, "Is that all you got, Bird-boy? Drunks are better fighters than you!"

Robin gritted his teeth in anger and chased after Harry who laughed in his face and ran into the building. While inside, they climbed up support beams and continued to fight: punching, kicking, dodging and throwing insults as well as weapons. In the chaos, the detonator was knocked out of Harry's hand and he was unable to grab it before it fell to the ground below.

"That's not good…" Harry commented, more to himself than anything else. He nearly fell off the support beam as the first explosion rocked the building, apparently the detonator must have hit something and activated. He looked up and saw that Robin had held on too, "As much fun as it is to fight you, it'd be best if we run!"

He then jumped off the beam and onto another one just as the first came down; he noted that Robin had gotten away in time too. Fires started climbing up more beams as several came crashing to the ground as another explosion shook the structure. Just as Robin landed on another beam, Harry saw that one was about to land right on top of him and he acted. He sprinted as fast as he could and pushed Robin out of the way, causing both of them to crash through a boarded up window and land on the ground outside. Unfortunately, on the way out, Harry had taken the brunt of the impact and was knocked out cold.

Robin groaned as he pushed himself up and stared at Harry's prone body in surprise. He quickly checked to see if Harry was injured in anyway and was silently relieved that he only had a concussion and quietly muttered to himself, "Why in the world did you do that?"

"Where are Joker and Harley?" Robin looked up and saw Batman had landed next to him.

"I don't know…I was distracted," Robin responded, throwing a quick glance to Harry. Batman looked at Harry's form for a minute before picking him up; causing Robin to wonder what might happen to him, "What are you going to do?"

"We need to get away from the building first, it's almost ready to come down," Batman answered, just as a wall came tumbling down. They got about a block or so away from building before it completely collapsed.

Robin cast another look at Harry's limp body, "We turning him over to police or someone else?"

"Police, we need to find out what he knows and he might be intimidated by the Batcave," Batman answered as the first police cars came rolling up.

"Police interrogation…isn't that a bit harsh?" Robin asked, quickly glancing away at the look he was receiving, "I mean he's around may age, maybe younger, so wouldn't it be worse?" He looked up and saw that Batman was quietly staring at him, "Nevermind…"

—HJH—

The small crowd of officers stood in front of the two-way mirror and stared at the small figure that was brought into the room and promptly handcuffed to the chair.

"Aren't the handcuffs a little much?" one person asked.

"If he's as crafty as Joker is, it'll be necessary," someone answered.

"Can't believe that he's still alive though, running around with those two lunatics," someone else commented.

"From the reports from the bank heist he was involved in, there's a good reason why he's still around," another voice broke in.

"That he's their kid!" This news, while not new, still sent shivers of disgust and fear down the spines of several people.

On the other side of the mirror, Harry groaned as he lifted his head up and quickly noted that he was bound to the chair he was sitting on. '…I got arrested, didn't I?'

'_What would give you __**that**__ idea?' _

'Cut the sarcasm Prank… is my hair still green?'

'_Yes, I thought you would want that, to keep your other look __**secret**__.' _

He also noticed that his straitjacket, weapons, goggles, and face-mask had been removed. 'Well, that just sucks.' He heard a door open and squinted at the figure that walked into the room and stood in front of him, "Would it be bad to ask if I could get my goggles back? I'm kinda blind without them."

Gordon was surprised at how casual the boy was, considering he had just been arrested for being a accessory to blowing up a building and not to mention helping to rob a bank earlier that month, "I'll see about that… how about you tell me why you're around the Joker."  
Harry sighed, "I'm getting tired of people asking me that… so listen up, because this is the last time I'm saying it: I'm running around with Joker and Harley because they're my parents. Got it?"

This bit of news, while not completely shocking since several witnesses to the bank robbery recalled the Harry had called Harley his mother, the statement had more weight to it being said by the actual person, "I see; it was reported that Joker called you Prank…is that what you go by?"

Harry nodded, "It goes with the theme, doesn't it?"

"What's your real name then?" Gordon pressed.

Harry smirked, even without his goggles he knew that there was a searching look on the man's face, "I'm not telling you what it is, and because it doesn't matter."

Gordon sighed deeply before getting up, "I'll send someone in with your goggles."  
"Honestly, I'd rather you do that. You seem like the only one who wouldn't want to beat me up," Harry commented.

"What makes you say that?" Gordon responded.

"People are stupid, they'll take out their hate of my dad out on me… I may be a kid but I know that people shift their anger like that," Harry answered before moving in his chair slightly, "And if it's not too much to ask, could you scratch my back? I can't really reach considering I'm handcuffed to this chair… it's not like I can do anything to you while I'm like this!" When Gordon did not answer, Harry had to make do with pressing his back into the support of the chair and wriggling. Gordon left the room but someone else stepped in, who was much smaller. Harry heard something clatter onto the table and saw that it was his goggles, "Mind putting them on for me? Why do you people keep forgetting that I am handcuffed to this blasted chair!" The person slipped the goggles over Harry's face but pulled them a few inches from his face before letting them go, so that they would snap onto Harry's eyes. "What the heck was that for!"

"The insults," Harry recognized the voice as belonging to Robin.

"How you doing, Bird-boy?" Harry cheerfully asked, while inwardly thinking of ways to get back at him, "Why'd you get sent in here?"

"The thought it might be a good idea to have someone around the same age as you doing this instead of an adult," Robin replied before adding quietly, "Why did you save me?"

Harry stared at the boy who sat across from him and spoke in a near whisper to avoid anyone behind the mirror from hearing what he said, "The only reason I saved your life is because the only way you get to die is if I'm the direct cause of it… that's all. Our…relationship is just like that of dad's and Batman's; they drive each other to the brink but never over it… because if that happened, the game would be over and things would get boring very quickly. Batman doesn't want to admit it, but he needs dad as much as dad needs him. It'll never end… it'll go on for as long as possible and one day when one of them finally does die, you can bet that there'll be someone to take his place, either it'll be me or you… which one of us will step up first?"

"You keep this up, you'll end up in Arkham, just like them," Robin stated, restraining himself from launching across the table and beating the other boy into a pulp.

Harry smiled, "You say that as if it's a bad thing. Dad tells me it's quite a pleasant place because he can cool off and unwind between his plans."

"Joker's insane," Robin stated.

"Are you sure about that? What if the people that are called insane are the sane ones and the people who are thought as sane are actually insane?" Harry asked cryptically, "Who in the world set the standards for what is and isn't sane?"

"Who're you to say that at all?" Robin questioned.

"Bird-boy, I know quite a few of the villains that live in this city. Sure they seem insane to you, but to me they seem perfectly normal they just have their own weird little habits," Harry explained before shrugging, "I guess it's just a matter of someone's point of view."

"Keep this up and you'll be a lost cause," Robin tried to reason.

"I love the fact you're trying to scare me into helping you out but give it up Bird-brain!" Harry cackled, sending shivers down the spines of several of the people watching the scene because it sounded so similar to Joker's maniacal laughter. He took a brief glance at the grim look that was planted onto Robin's face before cracking a grin and erupting into more laughter, "You're trying too hard to act like that stupid Bat! Honestly, why so serious!"

Robin growled in anger before launching himself over the table, knocking Harry to the ground, and punching him several times in the face before he was roughly pulled back. He looked up and saw that he had been pulled back by Batman, who promptly led him out of the room amid Harry's laughter.

Batman was poised to speak when Harry's voice called out from the room, still laughing, "Hey Bird-brain, thanks for knocking out my loose tooth! It's been bugging me for nearly a week!"

Robin gritted his teeth as Batman spoke, "Why'd you do that?"

"I don't know, something about him just sets me off," Robin explained with a sigh as he rubbed his knuckles, "Maybe he's right… we do act a lot like you and Joker…"

Batman grew silent at what his charge said before walking into the interrogation room and watched impassively as the boy was placed upright and his injuries were quickly looked over by a few officers. "I'll talk to him," Batman stated as they finished.

"You really need to teach him to control his anger," Harry said as he shook his head to clear it and stared at the dark form in front of him.

"He's not used to psychological fights, just physical," Batman responded.

"Psycho-what? I'm only a kid, you idiot, I have no idea what that word means," Harry stated.

"It's another word for mental," Batman answered.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place!" Harry snapped, "It's bad enough when Mr. Freeze uses incredibly big or complicated words during lessons, I don't need to have anyone else using them."

"You know Freeze?" Batman half asked half stated.

"Yeah, he teaches me when both of us have the time," Harry replied, "The same goes for Uncle Riddles, too."

"Who else do you know?" Batman asked, filing the information away for later.

"I don't feel like telling right now," Harry responded flippantly.

"Joker especially has hurt or killed hundreds, maybe even thousands of people… do you honestly want a life like that?" Batman asked.

"I know that they're not what you would call 'good guys' but I don't care. You can try to tell me that they're wrong or evil or whatever, but I'm not going to really listen to you, so you can just forget it," Harry responded before snorting, "I can't believe I used to be scared of you but now I see that you're not all that different than the ones 'normal' people label as 'villains'. You go around in a costume doing your own little thing, beating up people, and yet, you're loved for it… what's up with that?"

"Where are they?" Batman growled, towering over the boy and ignoring his comments.

Harry glared at Batman as he tightly gripped the seat of his chair, "I'm not telling you where mum and dad are so you can just go ahead and forget it… and one more thing: you can bite me you overgrown wing-kite!

Batman was a bit surprised at the amount of hate coming from someone so young.

"If you tell us where they are, you'll get a lighter punishment; you'll most likely be put in a Juvenile Detention center for a while—"

"I don't care! Harley and Joker are my mum and dad, get that through your skull! Even if you put them and me away, I'll get out and I have others that would take me in until they got out," Harry stated.

"Who?" Batman asked, wondering if he was bluffing.

"There's Aunt Ivy and Uncle Riddles, Mr. Freeze might, there's also Two-Face but that's a 50-50 chance," Harry snickered at his bad joke, "Face it Bats, you mess with me and you're in a lot of trouble because quite a few villains like my cute face."

—HJH—

Harry sat in a cell all by himself, since an incident occurred where some of the officers thought it would be amusing to throw him into a cell of adults and see how he would survive without any means to protect himself; he was able to knock out a few of the people in the cell before he was pulled out and put into a separate one, he enjoyed hearing the ones who put him in there get berated for their action and he thought he heard something about a pay cut or suspension. He smirked to himself that even weaponless, he could still cause a lot of trouble and thought about how soon before he was out of there. He brooded on these thoughts when he was suddenly thrown off balance when an explosion rocked the police station. He knew it must have been large because he both felt and heard it. 'I was wondering when they were going to get here.' He smiled as he saw Harley.

"We were so worried," Harley said as she broke him out and handed him his gear and the rest of his costume.

"Where's dad?" Harry asked as they ran down the hallway, pulling on the costume and putting his weapons back to their proper places.

"He's creating a distraction," Harley responded, pulling Harry back just as he was about to run into an officer who was quickly taken down by their combined efforts.

"Does he know that Bats is still around here?" Harry questioned, jumping off a bench to kick another officer in the head.

"I don't know," Harley answered, whacking someone aside with a large mallet.

"…where did you hide that?" Harry asked.

"…I don't really know," Harley replied.

'_Sometimes it is best not to ask…'_

"You're right," Harry answered, throwing a few gas capsules into a crowd of cops.

"Talking to you-know-who?" Harley commented.

"Yep… don't these guys ever quit?" Harry said, kicking another cop so that he crashed into a few others.

"It's a fault that exists in nearly all cops that you'll run into, so get used to it!" Harley responded.

—HJH—

Harry was currently sleeping; adrenaline long since drained away having been in the clear for almost an hour. Joker, unfortunately, had been caught, but he seemed okay with it as he briefly saw Harley and Harry getting away. Seeing the two escape sent Joker into fits of happy laughter, which many just thought was him laughing to creep people out. Harley unwound a bit with some TV and show there was a quick report on her and Joker's raid on the police station and there was mention of why they did it as well as showing a picture of Harry in costume. "Things are going to get really interesting now."


	12. Welcome to the Madhouse

A/N: Okay, if it is confusing anyone about what accent Harry has it goes like this: when Harry is in control, he speaks with a British accent; when it's Prank, he speaks with an American one. Got it? As to why no one has commented on it... I never put that much thought into that because I, honestly, keep forgetting about it :P

* * *

Commissioner James Gordon arrived home extremely exhausted and uneasy, having been forced to make a decision he did not really want to make.

"What's the matter dad?" Gordon looked up to see his daughter Barbra.

"Just a long day," Gordon replied.

"How's the mayor?" Barbra asked, handing Gordon something to drink.

"How do you know about that?"

"It's called the news dad, or did you forget we have a TV?" Barbra commented, "Also heard that you captured that little criminal, Prank."

"Yeah," Gordon said with a sigh.

"What is it?"

"I had to make a tough decision about him," Gordon replied, "I was forced to have him locked up in Arkham…"  
"But he's a kid!" Barbra replied, shocked, "I know that he's a criminal and at least slightly insane, but isn't that a little much?"

"It's believed that Arkham might be better suited to contain him instead of a Juvenile Detention Center," Gordon remarked, remembering what had happened the last time Prank was in one of those: he had beaten up several teens who had attempted to take away his goggles and caused enough mayhem that the staff were relieved when Harley and Joker came and broke him out, it was rumored that he was willingly handed over when they came.

—HJH—

"Let me go, let me go, let me go!" Harry screamed as he was dragged, kicking and screaming from the police van, bound in a normal straitjacket instead of his familiar, personalized one.

"Shut up already!" One of the cops holding him barked.

"Bite me, jerk wad!" Harry spat.

Just as the officer seemed poised to strike him a man stopped him, "That's enough, officer. He's in our hands now."  
"Good luck," the officer muttered, handing Harry over.

"Where the heck am I?" Harry asked, trying to free himself.

"You are at Arkham Asylum," the man explained.

"…wow, I didn't think they'd send me here until I was ten!" Harry flippantly remarked with an odd smile on his face as he was led into the large building.

"How old are you? I need to know your age and date of birth for our records," the man asked.

"I'm about nine," Harry remarked, trying to look around as well as he could, "My birthday's July 31st…and don't bother asking me for my name, because I'm not telling it even if you tell me yours."

"Yes, I recall that you've refused to give your real name under several circumstances…and you may just call me Mr. Smith," he replied.

"Is that your real last name or a fake one? If it's real, then it's one heck of a boring one," Harry commented before asking, "Are you like the guy in charge or something?"

"I'll be your personal counselor," Mr. Smith answered.

"Cool, anyone else get that privilege?" Harry questioned as he was led through several corridors, noted what looked like a recreation room filled with other inmates and a familiar figure, "Sweet, Uncle Riddles is here!"

"You know Mr. Nygma?" Mr. Smith asked, filing the little bit of information to put down later.

Harry was confused for a moment before realizing that the doctor was referring to Riddler by his real name, "Yeah, he teaches me a bit of this and that."

Mr. Smith led Harry to an empty room and removed the restraints on the straitjacket, "This is to be your room while you're here; you have your first appointment with me in about half an hour," Mr. Smith stated.

"Alright…can I keep the jacket on? I feel more comfortable with it," Harry asked as his arms were freed.

"…as long as you don't use it to harm other patients or the staff," Mr. Smith answered.

"I won't Smithy, don't worry," Harry said offhandedly. As the door closed behind him, he surveyed the room, which only contained a set of bunks with only one having a mattress; there was also a small sink and a toilet. _'Well…things could be __**worse**__.'_ 'How?' _'You could have a __**cellmate**__, and considering that everyone else here is an __**adult**__…'_ Harry cringed. 'Point taken.'

—HJH—

"Prank, do you mind telling me what it's like living with the Joker?" Mr. Smith asked a pad of paper on his lap.

"It's never boring," Harry stated, sitting with one foot on the seat and the other dangling with one arm wrapped around his leg and the other resting on the arm of the chair, "There's things to plan, Bud and Lou to feed, and not to mention meals to cook."

"Who are Bud and Lou?" Mr. Smith asked, writing down what had been said.

"Our pet hyenas, I got them for Joker when I was eight," Harry answered with a smile.

"Who cooks?" Mr. Smith questioned, writing down that Harry talked about committing crimes like how one would talk about the weather.

"I do, mainly, because mum burns almost anything she tries to make and dad…he sometimes helps out but rarely," Harry answered, picking at a loose thread on the chair, "Ask me something that isn't boring."

"Very well…what made you decide to join them in their crimes?" Mr. Smith replied, noting that Harry got bored very easily and most likely need some stimulus other than being in the recreation room.

"Because I was tired of having to be dropped off at someone else's when they went out," Harry replied, running a hand through his hair.

"Where'd you get that scar?" Mr. Smith inquired, noting its odd shape.

Harry looked up and tilted his head slightly, "What scar?"

"The one on your forehead, it's an interesting shape," Mr. Smith clarified.

Harry ran the heel of his palm over the mentioned scar before making eye contact, "You want to know how I got this scar?"

"Yes, if you don't mind telling me," Mr. Smith replied, pencil hovering over the pad of paper in anticipation of the answer.

Harry cracked his knuckles before telling the story as honestly as he could, "Dad was working with explosives, like always, one day and some wires must have gotten crossed by accident…the thing went off, I had the bad luck of being in the general area and got hit by some shrapnel."

"Really?" Mr. Smith responded, believing what had been said was truthful from the way Harry had told it.

"…no, not really," Harry laughed at the look on the man's face, "You wanna hear another version?"

—HJH—

Harry grinned as he tackled Riddler from behind and nearly sent him crashing face first into the table he was sitting at, "It's nice to see a familiar face around here, Uncle Riddles."

"Not that it's good to see you, what're you doing in here?" Riddler asked as he pulled up another chair to the small table where he was playing cards with a few other inmates.

"The cops finally decided that I was crazy enough to come here…I can't imagine why, I only just tried to kidnap the mayor and dye his hair pink," Harry commented as he crouched in the chair, giving a slight grin to the others seated around the table.

Riddler snickered from behind his cards, "Is that all?"

"Well, I also tried to get him to play with Bud and Lou…but I don't think he liked being covered in barbeque sauce before I did that," Harry replied. The comment sent those around him into hysterics.

"So this is the infamous Prank?" a man with a vaguely birdlike appearance spoke up.

"Yep, who're you?" Harry responded.

"Penguin," the man introduced with a smile.

"…I think mum mentioned you once, called you 'Pengy' I believe," Harry said after thinking a moment, "She likes giving a lot of people nicknames, wonder why?"

"Must be a quirk of hers," Riddler replied as he started to deal out the cards, "You playing, Prank?"

"What's the game?" Harry answered, sitting properly in the chair.

"Poker, have you ever played?" Riddler answered.

"No, I'll watch for a bit before I decide if I want to play," Harry responded.

—HJH—

Several of the inmates gathered around the table were surprised at the fact Harry was apparently a natural at poker, hiding what kind of hand he had behind a blank smile, and winning quite a few times.

"Are you guys letting me win or what?" Harry questioned as he won another hand.

"Well, if it isn't the kid," a chillingly familiar voice spoke up.

Harry froze the moment he recognized the voice and slowly looked up and saw Scarecrow. Even though it did not show on his face, he was afraid; here he was in front of Scarecrow without his filter-mask.

"Go away, Scarecrow," Riddler remarked, seeing Harry tense up.

"Can't I say hello?" Scarecrow remarked before noticing that Harry was staring unseeingly at him, "Anyone home?"

"Don't think I've forgotten what you did to him, Scarecrow," Prank growled as he attempted to launch himself at Scarecrow's form but was held back when Riddler grabbed him.

"Cool it, kid!" Riddler hissed before adding very quietly, "Let Harry take back control."

Prank glared at the back of Scarecrow's retreating form, noting that he was limping. "He wants to hurt Scarecrow as well, he's tired of living in fear…in fact, and he'd rather want him dead!" Prank flipped sideways, dislodging Riddler, and ran after Scarecrow on all fours.

Harry groaned as he opened his eyes and was surprised to see that it was still dark. '…what the heck happened?'

'_I __attacked__ Scarecrow, who seems to have a limp from what I did to him the last time. I was able to either break or fracture one of his limbs, I am not sure whether it was an arm or a leg before guards knocked us out, and we are now currently in solitary __**confinement**__.'_

'…I don't like this place…'

'_Harry…Harry, what is wrong?' _

'It's like I'm back with…them.'

'_Harry, calm down, you are __**not**__ back there.'_

'I want out, I want out!' Harry jumped to his feet and, since the straitjacket was completely fastened, threw himself at the walls, screaming, "Get me out! Let me out of here! Mum, dad, get me out!" The screaming lasted several minutes before an orderly finally unlocked the door. Harry immediately ran out of the room and, in his panic, straight into the wall opposite the door.

—HJH—

"Prank, would you like to explain why you attacked Mr. Crane?" Mr. Smith asked.

"No," Harry trying to sound serious but failing since his voice sounded nasally, since it was bandaged from when he ran nearly full speed into the wall. He wriggled in his straitjacket, which was fully secured, "Mind letting me out of this already?"

"Not until it's determined you're not a danger to yourself or anyone else," Mr. Smith stated, "Are you sure you don't want to tell why you did that?"

"…left over revenge," Harry muttered quietly.

"Mind explaining?" Mr. Smith asked as he wrote down Harry's reply.

"He sprayed me with Fear Toxin at my eighth birthday party, Pr-I got really mad and when I snapped out of it I smashed his legs and one of his hands," Harry responded, mentally kicking himself for nearly letting slip about Prank.

"You nearly referred to Prank as if he was a separate person, do you see him as that? If so, then who are you really?" Mr. Smith pressed.

Harry sat silently before speaking, "I'm Prank, son of the Joker and Harley Quinn… the rest of my family is made up of various costumed villains that exist around Gotham."

"…would you care to explain what happened when you were in solitary?" Mr. Smith asked, inwardly sighing at how deeply entrenched Harry was in the patterns of a criminal mindset.

"…I don't like being in dark and enclosed spaces, at least against my choice," Harry answered.

"Did either Joker or Harley—"

"No! They would never do that to me," Harry cut him off.

"Then, where did it come from?" Mr. Smith inquired.

"I'm not telling, Smithy," Harry replied, "That's all the answers you're getting from me today."

Mr. Smith sighed before calling up a guard to escort Harry back to his regular cell.

—HJH—

"Any progress on the boy?" the head of Arkham asked.

Mr. Smith reported what he had gathered so far, "Mr. Arkham, the boy seems to be highly intelligent, though he seems to hide it both consciously and not, and because of it grows bored very easily and it's apparent that he needs a fair amount of stimulation to keep him occupied. Taking a page from Joker's book, he seems to reinvent portions of his past, such as in our first meeting where he completely made up a story to explain the scar on his forehead, he told it as if it was the actual truth and if he hadn't told me so, I would have thought it had actually happened.

"There is also some evidence to support that he suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder, because during our recent session, he nearly talked about Prank as if he was another person. I saw evidence to further the claim after reviewing footage of the incident with Mr. Crane a few days ago; you can see a marked change in demeanor before and after Crane appears. Also, his movements became quite erratic after Crane's appearance, a noticeable change from his near acrobatic way of moving.

"In regards to the incident when he was in solitary, there's evidence to indicate he drew on an old fear of his. I believe that he might have been kept in a small and darkened room for extended periods of time, although he claims that neither the Joker nor Harley Quinn did it. He could have been taken from their 'care' and locked up as a means to get to them but he refused to talk further about that before he ended the session."

"Keep a close eye on him, Mr. Smith," Jerimiah Arkham stated, "…in your next session, try to see if hypnosis will curb his destructive behaviors."

—HJH—

"You alright, kid?" Riddler asked, watching Harry closely.

"I'd feel better if they'd let me out of this thing, but they only take it off when I'm in my cell," Harry complained, wriggling pointlessly in his straitjacket.

"If you hadn't attacked Scarecrow…" Riddler trailed off.

"I wanted to make a point to him, to never mess with me ever again in his life… and I guess I panicked a little and made you-know-who come out," Harry commented.

"You sure made your point; you also scared the hell out of most of the inmates. Very impressive for someone so small," Penguin remarked.

"…didn't Catwoman say something like that when I first met her?" Harry asked Riddler.

"I'm pretty sure she did," Riddler replied as they watched the TV in the rec room.

"…Uncle Riddles, do you mind scratching my back?" Harry inquired, squirming.

"Sure," Riddler responded, scratching at a random spot.

"Little higher, a bit to the right… a bit lower… perfect!" Harry sighed, "Thanks, that's was bugging me."

—HJH—

Harry lay quietly on his bunk, thinking about his freakout in solitary before closing his eyes and going into his mind. When he opened his eyes and saw that he was in his 'mind room' as he had dubbed it, he smiled. He picked up the doll of Harley off the table and carried it with him as he opened the door to his room, crossed the hallway to Prank's and opened the door. "Hey Prank, can you help me with something?"

"Like what?" Prank asked, getting off his bed.

"I want to lock away or get rid of all my memories of them," Harry stated, "I don't want a repeat of what happened in solitary."

"…we can try our best," Prank responded, "Just follow me, I know where you memories are **collected**."

"Thanks… I really don't want to freak out like that again," Harry said, hugging the Harley doll tightly.

Prank noted the action and reached up and ruffled Harry's hair in a comforting gesture, "Just relax, Harry."

Harry smiled slightly as he followed Prank down the hallway, past the door to his own room, and rounding a corner, "Prank, why is it that you seem older than me even though you're younger?"

"Maybe it is because of how I talk?" Prank provided.

"That might be the reason," Harry responded as they turned another corner and saw what looked like a large field with what seemed like millions of bubbles floating around, "Are these all my memories?"

"Yes," Prank answered, "Sometimes I come here to view them, to pass time."

Harry walked forward and reached out and touched a bubble, the moment he did, the large field faded away and he found himself in a bank. He looked around and saw himself taking out Batman, with a punching glove attached to a shotgun. 'This was my first major crime…' After seeing himself escape, he found himself back in the field. He looked around wildly, before locking eyes with Prank, "What just happened?"

"You visited the memory from outside of you body, as if you watch it from another person's point of view," Prank explained.

Harry nodded his head absently, "Let's round up all the bad ones… I really don't want them floating around."

Prank gave a half bow, "As you wish."

After a while, they both realized that there were more bad memories than good ones and decided to lock up all the memories Harry had before he was with Harley or Joker, since it would be easier and quicker.


	13. Mental and Physical Scars

A/N: Okay, if it is confusing anyone about what accent Harry has it goes like this: when Harry is in control, he speaks with a British accent; when it's Prank, he speaks with an American one. Got it? As to why no one has commented on it...I never put that much thought into that because I, honestly, keep forgetting about it :P

Also, keep voting for what house you want Harry in and visit the forum!

fanfiction (dot) net (slash) forum (slash) Twos (underscore) a (underscore) Crowd (slash) 51694 (slash)

* * *

"Today, we're going to try a bit of hypnosis," Mr. Smith explained as Harry was prepared.

"Then was it required that I be strapped to the chair?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Just a precaution," Mr. Smith attempted to soothe.

Harry rolled his eyes as the last strap was fastened. 'Well, this is going to suck.' He yawned as he heard Smith counted ten all the way down to one while swinging a pendulum back and forth. He felt his eyes grow heavy until they closed and his head dropped to his chest.

Mr. Smith smiled before speaking, "Can you hear and understand me?"

"Yes…" Harry responded slowly.

"Can you tell me your name?" Mr. Smith asked.

Harry paused for a moment before speaking, "It's…Harry…Quinzel."

"I…see," Mr. Smith wrote down the response, it seemed to confirm that Harry at least grown up around Harley for a long enough time to give her original last name as his, "Tell me about your first birthday party, or the earliest one you can recall."

Harry remained silent for a moment before speaking, "I'm all dressed up, and Joker's introducing me to other villains…Aunt Ivy's there, which is good…"

"Why's that good?" Mr. Smith inquired as he wrote down Harry's response.

"Because I'm nervous, there's a bunch of people I don't know so I'm glad there's a few that I do," Harry replied.

"Try to go back to the incident that caused your fear of dark and small spaces," Mr. Smith pressed.

Harry sat silently before stating, "I don't remember…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes…I don't know anything before…" Harry abruptly stopped.

"Before what?" Mr. Smith asked.

"I don't…I don't know. I just remember running and…I see mum," Harry answered.

"What happened before that?" Mr. Smith pressed.

Harry shook his head furiously, "I don't know…anything before that is…just nothing."

"Are you sure?" Mr. Smith questioned.

Harry gave a grunt, "There's nothing before that…there's nothing."

Mr. Smith sighed as he wrote that Harry seemed to have a mental block of some kind before deciding to end the session, "Okay, Harry, when you start to have violent tendencies or want to commit a crime, you will start to suffer from severe headaches…do you understand?" Mr. Smith implanted the suggestion into Harry's mind, who lazily nodded his head in response, "Good, when I count from one to ten, you'll slowly start to wake up and you'll completely wake up when I snap my fingers."

Harry shook his head as he woke up, "It's over already?"

"Yes Harry," Mr. Smith responded.

"What'd you call me?" Harry said.

"Your real name," Mr. Smith stated.

"How'd you figure it out?!" Harry asked as he tried to free himself from his bindings but abruptly stopping when a massive headache hit him.

"You told me while you were under," Mr. Smith answered

"Why you stupid little—" Harry started to rant before he stopped again, another headache hitting him.

"You'd best stop those thoughts," Mr. Smith ordered as he summoned a staff member to retrieve Harry and take him to the dining hall in time for lunch

—HJH—

"Hey kid, what's the matter?" Riddler asked seeing that Harry was nearly curled up into a ball on the bench, head in his hands, and rocking back and forth.

"My head, it hurts," Harry complained, "That stupid counselor did something to me…" He barely made it through lunch before being escorted back to his cell where he collapsed onto his bunk. 'Prank, what the heck did he do to me?!' _'He __**implanted**__ a suggestion to force you to feel headaches when you get the urge to be violent or commit __**crimes**__.'_ 'Can you undo it? I don't like people messing with my head.' _'I will try my best.'_ Harry nearly fell off his bunk as pain washed through his head. 'What was that?!' _'I had to forcibly __**remove**__ the suggestion from where it was attached.' _'You could've warned me!' _'…sorry.'_

—HJH—

"So Harry, how've you been the last few days?" Mr. Smith started.

"I've been feeling really good…a lot calmer, even though I keep getting headaches," Harry responded, trying to not attack the man straightaway for not using his other name.

"That's very good, I might prescribe you something for those headaches," Mr. Smith responded, writing down that any traces of violent or criminal tendencies had vanished.

"Can I see what you're writing?" Harry asked as he started to climb onto the desk to get a better look at what was on the pad of paper.

"No…Prank, sit back down," Mr. Smith attempted to order but he quickly found himself pinned to his chair with his letter opener pressed to his forehead, "But…the hypnosis."

"I don't like people messing with my head, Smithy," Harry growled, pressing the letter opener hard enough that it punctured the skin slightly. He stared at the slow trickle of blood coming from the wound before grinning widely, "Did I tell you about how I got my scar?" Mr. Smith slightly nodded his head. "Well, forget that one, I'll tell you a different version…when I was little, like five or something, I used to play at the playground a lot. One day a man comes by, he says that I'm really cute, real pretty looking and says that he wants to show me something. You see, I hadn't had the 'don't talk to strangers' talk, so I go with him, like a moron. The guy kidnaps me and takes me to his house…I go through hell there and he decides to show that he owns me…so he carves this mark into my head, grinning the whole time I'm crying and bleeding all over the floor." Harry grinned even wider as he carved a lopsided lightning bolt onto the man's forehead, relishing watching the blood flow down his face. Harry did not notice that a silent alarm had been activated until some of the guards rushed into the room and pulled him off Mr. Smith and securely fastened his straitjacket around him, he cackled insanely as he was dragged off into solitary confinement.


	14. Chapter 14

Many of the people gathered around the table were confused as to why they had been summoned, but when it slowly spread that it somehow involved the currently missing Boy-Who-Lived, whispers of what it could mean ranged from that he had been found alive and well or, in the worst case, dead.

As soon as Dumbledore walked into the room Remus Lupin jumped up and asked the question that had been in the minds of most of the people gathered there for nearly a year, "Did you find Harry?"

"Yes, but—" Dumbledore started.

"Where is he then! Is he alive?" Remus jumped in, anxious to know what had happened to the only remnant of his friends that he had left.

"Harry is alive, but it was nearly impossible to convince him to go back to his relatives," Dumbledore answered, "He kept repeating that he wouldn't go back. I believe it would be easier to show the situation than explain it." He pulled out his pensive and showed them the memory of the incident, starting from when he and Snape broke into the greenhouse and just ending as Harry moved to attack them.

Several of Order members were in shock at what they had just seen while a few glared at the headmaster.

"How could you Albus?" McGonagall asked in a low tone, "I explained to you that those muggles were bad, from what I saw. I'm not surprised that he refused to go back."

"He's well protected there—"

"Except from them!" Remus shouted.

"He more then likely faking," Snape muttered, "the little brat…"

Remus growled in a way that made everyone remember what his condition was, "Don't you dare call him that! He was completely and honestly terrified of going back to them!"

"I agree with Remus," Molly Weasley broke in, "you can't fake a fear that crippling."

"It's no wonder they attacked you," McGonagall said a moment later, "It looks like you broke into their home and they acted to protect him as if he was their own…"

"I was attempting to rescue him."

Remus slowly sat down, "Seems like those two did a much better job protecting him than you could have hoped his 'relatives' could."

"Young Harry current caretakers are very dangerous," Dumbledore sighed, "I did a bit of research before leaving Gotham City and discovered the two women we encountered were extremely dangerous criminals that have a very long list of crimes. The woman in the jesters outfit is called Harley Quinn and, as the other one mentioned, is called Poison Ivy. The 'Joker' person, Poison Ivy mentioned is one of the most dangerous, and insane criminals to run around Gotham. It is reported that he has killed hundreds, maybe even thousands of people over his time there."

"Then…why does he stay with them?" Arthur asked.

"Like Remus said, he feels safer with them," Dumbledore asked.

Remus sat as he vaguely heard people try to plan on what to do with the situation. One part of him was glad that Harry seemed happy, safe, and loved but he was also worried that people who were doing that were criminals. That meeting was several months ago and he had spent his time since then getting to Gotham City and finding out everything he could about the people he had seen in that memory. He sighed while looking around the area he was in, he was currently in the city's industrial district and surrounded by abandoned warehouses. It had taken some time and a bit of bribery to track down the current location of those who called themselves the Joker and Harley Quinn. 'I need to see for myself if Harry's fine…what do I do if he actually loves being here?' He wandered around the area a bit before he felt a blow to the back of the head.

—HJH—

Remus came to the sensation of his hands being licked. When his head finally cleared, he noticed he was tied to a chair and that his hands were being licked by hyenas.

"Bud, Lou, down!" a female voice said before coming into his field of vision, "Sorry about that, they just like you for some reason…usually they just attack someone they don't know, good thing they like you then."

"Yes…I suppose it is," Remus responded before asking, "Would I be wrong in asking if you're Harley Quinn?"

"Yep I am…bet this is an interesting way for your trip to turn out," Harley replied, noting his accent.

"I was actually looking for you, I needed to find out something that's very important to me," Remus stated.

"What're you trying to figure out?" Harley asked as she grabbed another chair and sat in front of him.

"I'm looking for the son of two of my best friends, I heard that you were taking care of him…can you at least tell me if he's alright? He's around nine and he has black hair and green eyes," Remus pleaded.

"Are you going to take him away?" Harley asked with a threatening tone laced into her question.

"Not if he's happy with you. That's all I want for him, to be happy," Remus explained.

"…he's fine, he's really happy and a joy," Harley answered, "When he was first with us, he kept thinking it all a dream and that it would end, but I think after his birthday and Christmas he's convinced that this is real and that it won't end anytime soon."

Remus smiled, "Thank you that's all I wanted to know…can I see him?"

Harley looked uncomfortable, "He's not here at the moment, but he will be in a few days…"

"What do you mean?" Remus' werewolf senses went into overdrive as he felt the unease radiating off her.

"Harry's currently in Arkham…" Harley answered, hoping that Remus did not know what she was talking about.

"The insane asylum!" Remus shouted, nearly breaking the ropes in his rage, "Why the hell is he there, he's only a kid!"

"Hey, Harry's not helpless," Harley said as picked herself off the floor after she had been scared out of her chair by Remus' outburst.

"We still need to get him out," Remus reasoned, trying to free himself.

"What do you think Mista J's doing?" Harley said as she motioned over her shoulder at a closed door, "You want to help me plan something else though?"

"Plan what?"

"A little get-together for when Harry gets back," Harley explained, slowly untying Remus.

Remus rubbed his wrists slightly, "…what do you need help with?"

—HJH—

"Hey Prank; I heard that you carved up your counselor, that true?" Penguin asked one day after Harry was allowed to join the rest of the population.

"I only carved into his forehead, that's the most I could do before I was dragged off," Harry replied.

"Hey, I just remembered something," Penguin said.

"What?" Riddler asked as Harry absently prodded at his food.

"Your voice changed when you attacked Scarecrow, what's with that?" Penguin questioned.

"It's a bit of a tricky thing to explain…but long thing short, it helps people I know tell the difference," Harry half explained.

"What difference?" Penguin asked.

"Between me and…" Harry looked around briefly before speaking in low tones, "my other self."

"Like a split personality?" Penguin reasoned.

"I guess you could call it that," Harry replied as he poked a spork at, what was supposed to be, his food, "What the heck is this even supposed to even be?"

"I think it's supposed to be meatloaf," Riddler commented, "But I doubt it has any meat in it…"

"Does it even have loaf in it?" Harry asked sarcastically, "I could make food a least a thousand times better than this, easily."

"I doubt they'd let you into the kitchen for fear you might put Smilex into the food," Riddler spoke.

"Now that's just ridiculous! Where, and how, am I going to make Smilex?" Harry retorted as he picked up his tray, tossed the remnants of food away, and was escorted back to his cell. He was surprised when the orderlies fastened his straitjacket, "Is there any particular reason why you've restrained me in my own cell?"

"You're getting a visitor, and they don't want to use the normal rooms," one of the guards answered.

'Wonder who it could be?' _'Most likely not someone on the __**bad**__ side of the law, that only leaves the "__**good**__" side…'_ 'So either Bats, Bird-boy, or the head cop guy…what was his name?' _'Commissioner James Gordon, but some call him Jim.'_ '…how do you know that?' _'I __**listen**__ to people.'_

"I told you that you'd end up in Arkham one day," a voice broke into his thoughts; Harry looked up and grinned when he saw Robin.

"Hello, Bird-boy. So nice of you to visit! Sorry I can't offer you anything," Harry tried to motion to himself about the straitjacket, "But honestly, what brings you all the way here?"

"…I heard what you did to your counselor," Robin stated, as if that explained everything.

"He messed with my head, which I didn't like. **Not one bit**," Harry answered, "…is that the only reason you graced me with your presence, to condemn me? I get enough of that through the papers and the news, thank you very much, and I'm tired of getting it from you."

Robin sat silently for a minute before asking quietly, "How're you holding up in here?"

"Robbie, I didn't know you cared!" Harry said with a grin, "I'm as fine as can be, my only complaint is that the food here looks like paste and doesn't taste any better."

"Government funding," Robin replied.

"That explains it, bunch of lazy idiots," Harry responded, which brought out a small grin, "I can't believe it, you can smile! And all along I thought that if you did that, your face would crack!"

Robin's grin dropped abruptly, "I just needed to make sure that it wasn't a bad idea to put you here."

Harry watched as Robin left his room and the staff came back into undo his restraints, "Come back and visit sometime, Birdy!"

—HJH—

Harry felt anxious, for some reason he could not sit still and kept getting up and walking around the rec room.

"Kid, sit down, you're making me dizzy," Riddler remarked after Harry made his fourth circuit around the room.

"I'm sorry, I just feel so…antsy," Harry said as he sat back down on one of the old couches strewn about the room but kept fidgeting, "Something's going to happen…I just know it."

"I hope it happens fast," Penguin remarked, "I think you're scaring some of the other guys by how you're acting."

'_Harry, you __**might**__ want to take cover.'_ 'Why?' _'Just __**trust**__ me…'_ Harry saw no need to argue against what Prank was advising and promptly hopped over the back of the couch to the confusion of Riddler and Penguin.

"What're you doing?" Riddler asked, peering behind himself.

"**He** says to take cover, I usually trust what he says," Harry answered.

Riddler and Penguin glanced at each other before following Harry's lead and ducking down behind the couch as well. Just as they started to draw looks from their antics, a wall of the rec room exploded, showering anyone near it in debris or blasting them off their feet.

"Harley, I think you used a bit too much C-4," Joker commented, looking at the mess.

Harry peaked over the couch and grinned widely, seeing the familiar costumes. He quickly grabbed Riddler and Penguin by the sleeves of their outfits and practically dragged them to the hole in the wall. He saw the look on Joker's face and quickly spoke, "Escape now and explain later!"

Joker and Harley shared a quick look before making a quick exit before the guards realized exactly what happened and gathered themselves enough to be a nuisance.

—HJH—

As the form of Arkham faded from view, Joker leaned over the back of his seat to stare at the two extra passengers that Harry had dragged along, "Why'd you bring them?"

Harry shrugged, "Did it on a whim."

The response seemed satisfactory to Joker who nodded his head slightly as Harley motioned for him to hand Harry a bag. Harley glanced in the rearview mirror at Harry as she spoke, "We thought you might want to change into something more familiar."

Harry looked into the bag, a wide grin spread across his face before he nearly dove into the bag and happily pulled out his purple straitjacket; he quickly pulled off the prison issued one, after Riddler had undone the buckles in the back, and immediately pulled on the other with a contented sigh, "Thanks for bringing it."

"No prob, hun," Harley answered, "I think your mask might be in there, but I don't remember."

"Great, just when I don't need it," Harry responded.

"Too bad you didn't have it in the beginning, but then things wouldn't have been as interesting if you did," Riddler responded.

"What happened?" Joker asked.

"I attacked Scarecrow again; I only broke one of his limbs, unfortunately," Harry sighed, "Stupid guards…but you'd be proud, dad, I got him with a chair!"

Joker cackled loudly as he reached back and ruffled Harry's hair, "That's my boy!"

When Harley parked the car and everyone got out, Harry did a few cartwheels and flips, "It's great to get out of that place…but I know I should get used to it."

"Especially if you keep doing this job," Riddler responded.

"We got a surprise for you, hun," Harley said as she gave Harry a quick hug.

"Like what?" Harry asked.

"If we told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" Harley replied as she put her hands over Harry's goggles, "No peaking!" Harry grinned to himself, wondering what his parents had planned for him.

Harry heard voices murmuring around him and before he could wonder what was going on, Harley lifted her hands from his eyes and he was nearly deafened by a group of people yelling: CONGRATULATIONS!

"…ow," Harry muttered, pretending to clean out his ears. He felt a wide smile spread across his face as he saw all of the costumed villains that made up his odd and dysfunctional 'family'. He let out a noise of surprise as he was abruptly picked up and tossed to his crowd, which swarmed around him, asking about how he was doing, what he thought about Arkham.

"It was alright…my only complaint is that I wished the food didn't all look **exactly **the same!" Harry answered with a laugh. The people around him agreed thoroughly as he was dragged off to a table that contained food that, after verifying that none of it was cooked by Harley, he started eating.

Remus stared with some surprise at Harry's form as he enthusiastically mingled with everyone. He jumped slightly when Harley suddenly appeared next to him and spoke, "What do you think of him?"

"I'm a little shocked…why is his hair that color? Do you dye it or…?" Remus asked.

"No, he does that himself," Harley said before elaborating, "At his eight birthday party, he said that he wanted to show Mista J something and then he turned his hair green, right in front of us. It's a nice trick, and it scares people a bit because with his hair like that he looks a lot like Mista J."

"He…does it on his own?" Remus responded, surprised.

"Yeah, none of us can figure it out; even Harry doesn't know exactly how he does it…can you?" Harley asked.

"I think so, but it might have to wait until the party is over," Remus replied, pausing before he spoke again, "Why did you feel it necessary to put me in this outfit?"

Harley glanced at the thrown together costume that she had forced on Remus and gave a slight shrug, "I thought you might fit in better."

After a time, Harry got bored with the activities, which consisted of villain versions of regular party games and were slightly more dangerous, and offhandedly commented to Joker that he wanted to go and blow up a few buildings to properly celebrate.

Remus reacted in barely disguised shock and attempted to stay out of the whole scenario if Harley had not grabbed him by the arm, dragged him to one of the vehicles outside, and practically tossed him into it. Joker spared him a quick glance before getting into the front passenger seat while Harry clambered onto the seat next to Remus and gave him a long look. 'What do you think about him?' _'Let __**me**__ talk to him first and then we will see…'_

Prank prodded him with his foot as the caravan of several cars headed into the main city, "I have never seen you around before, who are you and why are you here?"

Remus sat up and buckled himself in before answering, absently noting the change in accent and demeanor, "I'm Remus Lupin—" Anything else that he was about to say was abruptly drowned out by the sound of police sirens.

"Wow, that's a faster response time than usual," Harry commented watching Mr. Freeze turn part of the road into ice, grinning when he saw the police cars crash.

"Guess they're on high alert because we blew a hole in Arkham?" Harley suggested.

"…hey dad, we got anything explosive on us?" Harry asked.

Joker grinned, "I have just the thing!" He climbed into the back seat and pulled open a compartment, quickly pulling out the disassembled parts of something and quickly putting them together.

Unhidden joy spread across Harry's entire body as he realized that what Joker had just put together was a rocket launcher, "This is going to be great!"

Remus watched in a mixture of horror and shock as Joker helped to balance the rocket launcher on Harry's shoulder as he aimed it at a pursuing police car. When Harry pulled the trigger, he was nearly thrown from the car from the recoil but was steadied by Joker. Remus could not believe his eyes or ears as the projectile hit the car and caused it to explode, showering the street and other chasing police cars in flaming shrapnel as Harry laughed joyfully. 'What have I gotten myself into!'

—**HJH—**

The impromptu parade faded fairly quickly as the various villains went their separate ways to their hideouts. Harry practically skipped as he, Harley, and Joker went inside their hideout with Remus trailing behind.

"Hun, Remus he needs to talk to you," Harley said as Harry was making his way back to his own room.

Harry was curious as to what the man would want to say to him. _'There is something __**off**__ about him…be __**careful**__.'_ 'What's wrong exactly?' _'There is something about his energy, it seems…__**sick**__…that is the best way to describe it.'_

Harry stared at Remus for a moment before bluntly asking, "What is wrong with you?"

Remus was startled, "What do you mean?"

"They're something about that's sick, weak…what is it?" Harry questioned.

Remus sat silently for a moment before speaking, "Do any of you believe in magic?"

"To a point," Harley said, "What's that got to do with anything?"

"I'm a wizard, and so is Harry," Remus announced, "Your birth parents were a great witch and wizard, and good friends too."

Harry was in shock at what he had just heard, "Prove it, and show me some magic!"

Remus gave a slight smile as he pulled out his want and muttered a quick spell, causing the chair Harry was sitting on to float about a foot off the ground before being set back down, "You believe me now?"

Harry got off the chair and lifted it up to make sure that there was nothing underneath it, "That was cool! …but what does it have to do with you being sick?"

"…when I was young, I was bitten by a werewolf, and now I am one," Remus muttered sadly.

"That'd explain why Bud and Lou liked you right off the bat," Harley reasoned.

"So, can you change into a werewolf right now?" Harry asked, excited.

Remus was surprised at how well they were taking the news, "No I can't transform at will, it only occurs during the full moon and you don't want to be anywhere near me when I've transformed…I'm dangerous."

"Are you sticking around here or what?" Joker asked.

"…if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to teach Harry about the magical world and about his parents if he'd like…it's not like I have a job back there…" Remus added the last part quietly.

"What wouldn't you have a job?" Harley asked, concerned.

"I'm discriminated against because I'm a werewolf," Remus responded.

"That's just stupid!" Harry stated, "It's not like you chose to be a werewolf, it was an accident!"

"Your father was a lot like that too, he didn't care that I was a werewolf either. He stuck by me when he found out," Remus said with a smile.

"Well, if you're staying here, you'll be Harry's henchman," Joker announced before wandering off, cackling.

Harry and Remus sat quietly in shock before Harry smiled widely and proceeded to dance around the room in joy, "I have a henchman, I have a henchman!"

Harley smiled at Harry's antics before picking up a book of names, "Since you'll be running around with us from now on, you'll need a name."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked, apprehensive.

"You can't exactly be called 'Remus' on the job," Harry reasoned.

Harley flipped through the book, stopping near the back and letting out a small squeal, "I found the perfect one!"  
"What is it?" Harry asked, trying to look at the page.

"Ze'ev, it means wolf," Harley announced with a grin.

"Perfect!" Harry exclaimed.

"How about Mooney, instead?" Remus suggested.

"Are you serious, 'Mooney'?" Harry replied, incredulously, "It makes you seem like you're a mooning pervert!"  
Remus was speechless for a moment before speaking meekly, "It was my nickname in school."

"…well, if you don't like Ze'ev, I can call you K-9," Harry mockingly remarked.

Remus sighed, "Ze'ev is just fine."

—**HJH—**

Harry was getting ready for bed when Joker quietly let himself into the room, "What's up dad?"

"The sky, the ceiling…" Joker said with a smile, "I wanted to give this to you earlier, but I think Harley would've thrown a fit and hit me with that mallet of hers."

Harry was handed an object that was crudely wrapped up and quickly tore off the paper, he was surprised to find out that he was holding a switchblade with a green handle, "Never thought I'd get something like this…"

"I thought you might need something a bit more dangerous than cards as you get older," Joker replied with a shrug, "Just don't tell Harley you got it from me, like I said, I don't want to get hit with that mallet of hers."

* * *

If you want to see the outfit Harley forced Remus into, look here:

www (dot) tektek (dot) org (slash) avatar (slash) 19548984


	15. Chapter 15

"Come on, Ze'ev, I want to go to the park!" Harry said, dragging Remus behind him, "And you need to get to know the city more."

Remus smiled at Harry's antics but inwardly sighed at the nickname, "Stop pulling on my arm…and stop calling me that."

"How about K-9?" Harry asked, sarcastically.

"No, Mooney would be perfectly fine," Remus sighed.

"I'm not calling you 'Mooney'," Harry retorted, "Like I said, it makes you out to be a mooning pervert!"

"How about 'Remus' then?" he reasoned.

"…okay!" Harry responded as they finally arrived at a park, he immediately let go of Remus' hand and ran to the swings.

Remus was surprised, if he had not known it, he would never have connected the boy running around in front of him, acting like a regular child, to the one that he first encountered a few days ago. Harry was dressed 'normally' in a red t-shirt, a pair of faded jeans, slightly broken-in shoes, and his glasses perched precariously on his face, which seemed about to fall off with his every movement. He also saw beneath what Harry was showing, he still saw the small figure wearing the oddly colored straitjacket and acting completely at home surrounded by people who were supposed to be the most violent and dangerous criminals to exist, and laughing happily as he blew things up. 'James…Lily, what do you think about what Harry's become? Are you happy for the fact he is loved and is safe or are you saddened by the fact he's being taken care of by criminals…one of which could most likely scare Voldemort himself?' Remus was startled out of his thoughts when Harry crashed into him.

"Can we get ice cream?" Harry asked excitedly with a wide grin.

Remus chuckled at his behavior and agreed, watching Harry race over to a nearby ice cream store and impatiently waited inside.

As Harry waited for Remus, he saw two people order ice cream and noticed that the younger of the two, who seemed around his age, looked a bit familiar to him.

"I'm Harry, nice to meet you," he introduced himself, slightly startling the two, holding out his hand for it to be shaken.

"Name's Richard, but people call me Dick," he responded, getting over his shock and shaking Harry's hand.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute…your name's Richard and people call you Dick?" Harry asked disbelievingly, "How the heck do you get Dick out of Richard! That makes absolutely no sense!"

"Harry, don't be rude," Remus stated as he walked up and turned to the older man, "Sorry about that, he seems to have no filter between brain and mouth." Harry responded by sticking out his tongue.

"How about I call you Ritchie, instead?" Harry asked, getting a cup cookie dough and mint chocolate chip mixed together, drawing an odd look from Remus, "What? I like both flavors and they taste good together!"

Dick chuckled slightly before answering Harry's request, "Sure, you can call me Ritchie if you'd like."

—HJH—

After finishing their ice cream, the boys ran off to play while Remus and a man who seemed to be Ritchie's father talked.

"Looks like they're getting along," Remus commented to the larger man beside him.

The man nodded his head in agreement, "It's good to have Dick getting along with someone that's about his age, he's been feeling a bit down lately but I think your son cheered him up fairly quickly."

Remus was startled for a moment before collecting himself, "Harry's not my son…we're not blood related at all."

"What's your relation then?" he asked.

"I'm like an uncle, I suppose…I knew Harry when he was a baby but only recently have I been able to see him again," Remus responded, "He's a handful, but he's still a kid."

"I know what you mean," he responded.

"You have no idea," Remus chuckled as he saw that Harry started to hang upside-down from the monkey bars, "Sometimes Harry acts like he's five, but there are times when he seems like an adult."

"I know how you feel," he remarked, "Dick's like that a lot too, acting older than his age."

"I honestly wouldn't want him to change, he reminds me of his father…" Remus trailed off before standing up, "I'm rambling, it was good to meet you…I never got your name, now that I think of it."

"Just call me Bruce," he answered, shaking Remus' hand.

"Remus," he responded before waving to catch Harry's attention.

—HJH—

Harry sat on top of the monkey bars and noticed Remus waving him over, "I think I have to go…see you around sometime?"

"Sure, I'll stop by here on Saturdays, maybe we'll run into each other again," Dick replied.

"See around then, Ritchie," Harry said with smile as he got of the bars and made his way over to Remus. 'Hey Prank, was Ritchie someone we've met before?'

"_No, he is not."_

'Guess it was my imagination then.' Prank felt slightly guilty for lying to Harry but he did not want to see him upset again, like when he realized that he and Robin were on opposite sides.

'_If Harry and __**Robin**__ could not be friends, maybe Harry and __**Ritchie**__ might have a better chance…'_

Walking back into the hideout, Harry was greeted with a happy Bud but an indifferent Lou. Over the last few months, Lou had gotten what could best be described as moody, snapping at everyone save for Harley and Remus.

"Hey mum, what do you think is wrong with Lou?" Harry asked, idly realizing that was the first time he had done so.

"I don't know," Harley answered.

"I think Lou might be pregnant, judging from the fact her belly has gotten bigger," Remus remarked.

"Pregnant? But I thought Lou was a boy?" Harry said, confused, "If he's a she, then why does she have a… you know?"

"It's a trait of theirs, apparently," Remus remarked, "I did a bit of research on Spotted Hyenas when Lou first started acting odd and I found out a bit about them."

"…so, are all girls are like that?" Harry asked, slightly creeped out.

"Only in some animal species," Remus answered.

"…that's just weird," Harry muttered.

"…anyone want to cause some mayhem?" Joker said, breaking the mood.

"I do!" Harry jumped up.

Harley agreed to go as well but Remus elected to stay behind for two reasons: one, he did not have a better costume than the one Harley had forced him into and two, he wanted to keep an eye on Lou in case anything happened.

"See you later then, Ze'ev," Harry called out as the three of them went off.

—HJH—

When Harry, Harley, and Joker came back from an eventful few hours involving fires, another police car being blown up, and stealing an ice cream truck, they were surprised to see Remus putting something near Lou, who seemed very tired.

"What do you have there?" Harry asked, skipping over to Remus.

"Lou gave birth while all of you were out to two cubs," Remus explained, "It's a bit of a problem that there's both a boy and a girl."

"What's the problem?" Harley asked, peering over Remus' shoulder at the two small creatures.

Remus sighed, "Female pups assert their aggressiveness towards any brothers they have, and since they're bigger, they can do that easily."

Harry then noticed that smaller of the two cubs was being attacked by the other. He quickly picked up the smaller cub, to keep it from being hurt, "Vicious thing isn't she... that is a girl, right?"

"Yes, like I said, they tend to be bigger and more aggressive than boys," Remus explained, "Siblicide is a common death among hyena cubs because they compete for food and if there's only one cub, it gets more food."

Harry frowned at the information before noticing that the cub in his hands was absently chewing on his gloves in an attempt to bite through it, he smiled slightly, "This one has teeth already!"

"They both do and their eyes are already open," Remus informed, "What did you think the other one was attacking him with?"

"You're cute… can I have this one?" Harry muttered before asking.

"Don't see why not," Joker remarked.

Harry smiled again before scratching the cub under its chin, "I think I'll call you… Jin!"

"Gin?" Remus remarked, "Why'd you name him after liquor?"

"It's spelled J-I-N!" Harry retorted, "…and it was the first thing to pop into my head."

"What's the other one going to be called then?" Harley asked.

"Tonik!" Joker broke in, with a grin.

"…Jin and Tonik…" Remus muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

Harry giggled as Jin maneuvered himself so that he could try to lick Harry's face, making soft squeals while doing so. Harry pulled off the mask so that Jin could get access to his skin.

"We got something for you while we were out," Harley spoke, dropping a bag onto Remus' lap.

When the wolf peered inside it he gave a slightly strained smile, "A costume, you shouldn't have…"

"You said you needed a better one earlier and it suits you!" Harry smiled, happy that he had spotted the thing in the first place, "Aren't you going to try it on?"

"Maybe later," Remus remarked, not really looking forward to putting the costume on at all, mainly because of the mask that went with it.

Harry grinned before putting Jin down and nudging him towards Lou, frowning when Tonik snapped at Jin. "Hey mum, Tonik's not letting Jin eat!" Harry complained, pulling Jin away as Tonik tried to bite him.

"Cut that out!" Harley snapped, Tonik grunted slightly in response prompting Lou growl threateningly at Tonik.

"I think she understood you…" Harry remarked as he cautiously moved to put Jin near Lou, he was amazed that Tonik seemed to glare at him a moment before turning away.

"I guess she did…" Harley said, surprised as well.

"How come she listened to you?" Harry asked before turning to Remus, "You know why?"

"With Spotted Hyenas, females rank much higher than males do. Lou sees Harley as being of higher ranking than her and when she noticed that Tonik was being disrespectful, she warned her of her place," Remus explained.

After feeding for a bit, Jin wandered back over to Harry and started to tug on the cuff of his pants with a slight growl, "Does he want to play?"

"I believe so, but be careful, he might bite you," Remus warned.

Harry grinned before crouching low to the ground and started to play fight with Jin, who fought back by attempting to tackle Harry or bite him.

—HJH—

Harry was startled from his sleep when he felt something lick his hand and peered over the edge of his bed, he was surprised to find Jin sitting near him, staring at him with wide eyes. Harry blinked owlishly before jokingly asking, "Did Tonik chase you off?" He was surprise when Jin actually nodded his head in confirmation. Harry smiled as he scooped up Jin and plopped him onto the bed, "I guess since you're mine, it'll be okay if you slept in my bed." Jin responded by nibbling at Harry's hair in an attempt at grooming. Harry laughed at the sensation before rubbing Jin's dark fur as the two nodded off.


	16. A Way to Escape

Harry opened his window and made to slip through it when he felt the edge of his straitjacket catch on something, he looked down and saw that Jin had the fabric clenched in his teeth, "You can't follow me Jin, you're not big enough." Jin let go with a small whine, forcing Harry to scratch him behind the ears in a comforting gesture before slipping out the window. Harry did not have a set destination in mind for the moment, he just wanted to get out and run, to leap high enough to clear the various antennas and other equipment that littered the rooftops and to try and go higher than he could before. There was something about the feel of air rushing by his ears and through his hair that he loved, even though he did not know why, the fact that the sun was starting to set too made the journey even better. Eventually he stopped to let his body rest a bit before setting off again when he heard voices; he looked around and tracked them down to an abandoned apartment, he was surprised to find it filled mainly with children and a few teens.

"You okay, Lils? That looks like a bad bruise," one voice remarked.

"It's okay, I'm used to it…" another answered.

"Just ask and I'll take him down for you," an older voice responded, "…I'll see you around guys."

"Bye Ethan," several voices responded and Harry took that as his cue to carefully sneak in.

Harry looked around the apartment and saw that while it was rundown, it was fairly homey. He could not help but remark, "Cozy little place you guys have." Everyone in the room turned to him and one or two of the teens pointed makeshift weapons at him. Harry held up his hands in a 'surrender' motion, showing he did not mean any harm. "I'm not here to hurt anyone."

"What're you doing here then?" someone in the group asked.

"I was just wandering around and decided to take a break, heard you guys talking outside and wanted to see what was up," Harry explained, "Do all of you live here?"

"No, this is just a hideaway for us," somebody answered.

Harry nodded his head, glancing around the group, noting a few people had on ratty clothing or looked a bit thin, "What're your guys' names?"

"Jack," a young light skinned boy answered, fiddling with his gloves.

"Lilly," a quiet African-American girl responded, hugging a worn-out bunny doll to her chest.

A few more people introduced themselves slowly, oddly, no one asked Harry for his name.

—HJH—

After a while Harry took a better look at the ones that were still there, some had left at various points, and he noticed the unique gloves that Jack wore, seeing that they made his hands look like they were just bones, "Nice gloves."

Jack grinned, "They're great, aren't they? I look a bit more like my hero now…"

"Who's that?" Lilly asked.

"Jack Skellington," Jack responded.

"Ironic that your name's Jack too," Harry commented.

"I know, isn't it great?" Jack grinned widely.

Harry glanced at the doll Lilly had, "What's that?"

"I've had this forever, my mom got it for me before I was born…it's the only thing I have of her except for a picture," Lilly explained.

"…oh, sorry for bringing it up," Harry apologized.

"It's okay, you didn't know. I don't remember her at all, she died when I was a baby," Lilly waved it off before starting a new line of conversation, "What's the weirdest think you guys have done?"

The debate among the small group reigned for a few minutes before Harry interrupted with a smirked, "That's nothing; my parents are a lot weirder than you guys could ever be."

"Who're your parents?" Lilly asked.

"The Joker and Harley Quinn," Harry replied, laughing at the looks on their faces.

"You're kidding?" Jack exclaimed.

"I thought your costume looked a bit familiar," Lilly remarked, "You must be that kid that's running around with them…what was it they call you?"

"Prank," Harry provided.

"Uh…you going to do anything to us?" someone fearfully asked.

"No, you guys are too interesting for me to mess with you," Harry laughed, "…anyone have the time?"

"It's nearly ten!" someone exclaimed.

"Guess it's time for you guys to be heading off, same here, bye!" Harry climbed out the window and scaled the fire escape to the roof. He watched the group leave the building and noticed a few heading in the same direction. 'They must live in the same area…better keep an eye on them.' Harry followed the group from a distance, keeping tabs on which building people entered until only Jack and Lilly were left, both entering the same one. As he stopped roof opposite their building Harry thought for a moment. 'Prank, is there anything about them I need to know?' _"They have lived in __**bad**__ situations…__**what**__ exactly, I cannot say." _ 'I need to check on them, I need to know what they've been through.' He quickly tracked down which floor Lilly lived on and quietly landed on the fire escape. He heard shouting and peeked in, he saw that a man, most likely Lilly's father yelling at her. Harry growled in anger as he saw Lilly hit the ground, "If I had the chance, I would hurt him so badly he'd wish he were dead!" _"Calm down, Harry." _'I'm trying, but I can't help it…I don't know why I hate that he's doing that so much!' Harry gritted his teeth as he heard Lilly's father yelling at her some more. _"Harry calm down, you will draw attention to yourself…get out of here, __**now**__!"_ Harry slowly pulled himself away from the window, grumbling under his breath and started to track down the apartment Jack was in, he peeked through several windows before finally locating him; Jack holed up in his room with _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ on, the sound drowning out the noises of an argument in the room next to it. 'Now I see why they didn't want to go back…I want to do something, a way for them to escape this…there has to be someone just like them out in the city.' _"__**Saving**__ people is generally not what you do."_ '…there's one way I can try and do it…' _"__**What**__ are you planning?"_ 'I got to think it out a bit more, but I think it's a great idea!'

—HJH—

"Hey Lilly, I got you something…for some reason it suits you," Harry tossed Lilly a black and white striped hat that seemed to have a pair of antennas to it.

"It's cute," Lilly remarked with a smile, putting it on.

"Got something for you too Jack," Harry handed a Jack a set of headphones with a jack-o-lanterns adorning the earpieces; Jack ecstatically put them with a large grin. Harry quickly handed out other odds and ends he thought suited the other people there, most of it was just guesswork and the items he had were stolen from various places. As he finished handing out things, Harry said down before speaking to the group, "I've been having this idea…you guys want to hear?"

"What is it?" Jack asked, adjusting the position of his headphones slightly.

"I'm thinking of creating a group of people just like us, people who are outcasts and can find support in those just like us," Harry announced, some of the people around him staring at him in either awe or disbelief, which one he was not sure, "It'll also be a way to get away from certain…situations. Think about it guys, if there was a group just like this spread across the **entire** city, wouldn't it be great?"

"What're you gonna call this group?" Lilly asked, curious.

Harry grinned widely, "I'll think about it…but spread the word: 'You want safety in numbers, to be around people that are just like you, then join up with us. You'll never be hurt again. Word of warning, this is serious; you'll be working for not only yourself, but for everyone else that's in it. Come to Warehouse 5 in the South Docks in a month if you want to join.' How's that sound?"

"Sound amazing, Prank," Jack answered, "It's great that we'll never be alone again!"

Harry grinned, though no one could see it, "Add one more thing to when you talk about that, say that those who join will be working closely with Joker."

—HJH—

"Where the hell's Joker, he's supposed to be here!" someone in the crowd yelled.

Harry chuckled darkly, "He doesn't even know about this little group I put together."

"What the hell give you the right to go around saying 'you can work for Joker'?" Someone else called out.

"From what I recall, I never actually said that you'd be working for Joker, I said that you'd be working closely with him," Harry explained.

"Who're you to say that!"

"You don't read the news much do you? You seem to have no idea who I am," Harry commented.

"You're a brat!"

Harry shrugged, "I may be a brat, but I'm one that was raised all my life by Joker himself, so be quiet and listen to me."

A few people muttered to themselves about his declaration and a few commented about how he had been seen with Joker and Harley for a few years now, and was getting fairly infamous for both his crimes and being locked up in Arkham a few months ago.

"Screw this stupid kid," someone muttered.

Harry quickly tracked down the owner of the voice and saw that he was pulling out a gun and starting to aim it. Harry quickly acted, leaping into the crowd and immediately attacking the person with the gun, knocking it out of their hand. He stood over the bleeding and unconscious body before he turned and addressed the crowd that looked at him in a mixture of fear and amazement, "I may be a kid, but don't underestimate me…if you do, I'll kick your ass!"

—HJH—

"Police arrested over a dozen gang members following a recent violent confrontation; all those arrested came from the same gang and at the scene was a tag that has yet to be associated with any known gangs residing in Gotham…"

"…there has been an upsurge in gang-related activities with countless reports of a new tag appearing over all over Gotham, going as far as to cover ones of existing gangs. The tag consists of 'J' and a 'Z' next to each other with the 'J' being capitalized. It is unknown what it means so far…"

"…the meaning behind the infamous '**Jz**' tag, which has been appearing over Gotham, has been discovered; a person arrested at the scene of a tagging revealed that it stood for '**Jokerz**'…"

"…it is unknown if the 'Jokerz' gang truly do have a connection to the psychopathic criminal himself or are simply using his name and image to get recognition…"

"…there have been sightings of those thought to be in the 'Jokerz' gang; many reports indicate that the members pay respect to the man the gang is named after, whether by dressing up as clowns themselves or by imitating his behaviors…"

—HJH—

Gordon sighed in irritation, throwing down another report of Jokerz activity. He remarked to himself, "They're getting braver, doing more…"

"I doubt that Joker himself is really behind this," a voice commented from the open window.

Gordon did not turn around knowing who it was, "What makes you say that."

"The fact any rival gang members that are found at the scene are still alive," Batman commented, "If Joker really was behind this, they'd most likely have been dead."

"So, it's just a group of people who've named themselves after him? Why would they do that?" Gordon turned around when he did not get a response, realizing that Batman had already left, "One of these days I'm going to nail that damn cape of his to the floor…"

—HJH—

"Harley!" Joker called out, throwing down the paper in anger.

"Yes puddin'?" Harley responded bouncing into the room.

"What in the world is this supposed to be?" Joker asked, gesturing at the newspaper on the table.

"Um…the news?"

"I meant the headline!" Joker scooped up the paper and practically shoved it in her face.

Harley took the paper and read the headline aloud, "'Jokerz Spreading!' What's this supposed to mean?"

"There's this gang going around using my name! While it's touching that they named themselves after me, where're the royalties from using my name and image?"

"All that stress will shorten your lifespan," Remus commented, absently scratching Bud behind the ears while reading his own copy of the paper.

"Shut up, wolf-boy!" Joker spat, recoiling slightly by the menacing growl Bud let out.

"You're mine, why are you siding with him?" Joker asked, to which Bud responded by doing the hyena equivalent of a person sticking out their tongue.

Joker spent several days in a bad mood, which Harley avoided like the plague and Harry rarely saw since he went out more. Things changed when Harley brought something to the hideout.

"Here you go, Mista J," Harley showed off what she had, a captured member of Jokerz tied up and ready to be interrogated/tortured.

Joker had some fun using various methods of inflicting pain, "Now that I'm through having fun, you're going to tell me where your group meets…or else Bud, Lou, and Tonik are going to have a new chew toy."

"W-warehouse 5, S-south Docks! There's a meeting t-tomorrow night," the man stated before passing out.

Joker grinned, "Looks like we're going out tomorrow Harley!"

—HJH—

The next day, as Harley and Joker were getting ready to head off and crash the meeting, they attempted to convince Remus to come along.

"No thanks," Remus replied, "I don't want to get caught in the crossfire where I'll most likely get shot, stabbed, maimed or poisoned."

Harley shared a look with Joker before she spoke, "That's most likely going to happen to you at one point or another while you're living with us."

Remus could not find a way to dispute the claim and hung his head in defeat.

"Now that that's settled, go put on your costume!" Harley beamed, while Remus cringed slightly.

Some time later found Harley, Joker, and Remus watching the appointed warehouse, seeing people of different types entering it: people who looked normal, people who looked crazy, people that acted crazy and those that actually were.

"The fact I came is bad enough, but did I have to be forced into wearing this?" Remus asked, his voice muffled by the mask he was wearing.

Harley glanced at him, the small amount of light near them allowing her to see Remus' 'official' henchman outfit: he wore regular clothing but had on boots and gloves that resembled a wolf's paws and claws as well as sporting a wolf mask, giving the overall appearance of a humanoid wolf. "I think you look cute!"

Remus glared at Harley though the eye-holes of the mask, he gave a low growl before jumping onto Harley. They tussled for a few moments, tugging on costumes, masks, or hats.

"Will you two cut that out!" Joker snapped, very annoyed at the noise they made.

Harley and Remus immediately stopped, knowing full well never to annoy Joker when he was in a bad mood. Joker left their hiding spot and strolled towards the warehouse and quickly broke down the door, startling the collection of people gathered inside, "Which one of you had the idea of coming up with all of this?"

"…I did, dad," Harry responded meekly, stepping out from behind the pieced together podium on the improvised stage, "…am I in trouble…you going to kill me?"

Joker seemed surprised that Harry was behind all of this, "You're the one that came up with this?"

"Uh…yeah," Harry replied, afraid of what Joker's reaction would be.

"That changes everything then!" Joker announced as he strode up to the stage, "If it was anyone else that created this, I'd have killed them and restarted the thing from scratch…but since it's you, I won't kill you but you need to make some changes."

"Technically, dad, I made Jokerz because I thought you might need a bit of street backup whenever you're out, you never know when the Bat will show up," Harry explained, "…that and another reason."

"What's the other reason?" Remus asked.

Harry looked embarrassed for a moment before speaking quietly, "This is also a way to be someone else for a change; for most of the people here, when they're in costume, they can forget who they really are…for some, they don't even respond to their original name anymore, they prefer the nickname they have now…like Lilly or Jack, they only answer to Checkers and Pumpking now, they abandoned their birth names and the lives they used to live…can't say I don't blame them for doing that."

"What do you mean, hun?" Harley asked.

"Checker's dad would yell and hit her, Pumpking's parents always argued and fought," Harry explained, "I was happy when they decided to never go back and saw that the others here were a better family…we all watch out for each other."

"That's real sweet, hun," Harley commented before sweeping Harry into a bruising hug.

"Can't breathe!" Harry choked out.

A few minutes later, the meeting continued while Joker and Harley were mainly spectators; they were a little surprised at how persuasive and charismatic Harry was in convincing the gathered Jokerz to continue with their work and to take as much territory as they could with minimal casualties to their side and to cause as much damage to the other side as possible.

"You're a natural leader," Harley remarked, as the Jokerz were departing.

Harry gave a small wave to those he knew personally, "Truthfully, I'm really winging it because I have no idea exactly what I'm doing."

"Couldn't tell," Joker commented, ruffling Harry's hair.

"It's quite a feat to be such a leader at your age; did you have trouble convincing them?" Remus asked.

"At first…but after I beat the guy who tried to shoot me to a bloody pulp, they decided it was best for their health to listen to me," Harry explained with a small laugh before going quiet, "Am I still in trouble?"

"…yes, you're grounded for a week because you didn't tell me about this idea and sneaking out more often than usual, making Harley worry," Joker answered.

'That's not so bad.'

"_Be thankful he is not forcing you to do something incredibly __**stupid**__…"_

'I do that everyday.'

"…_quiet you."_


	17. Happy Halloween

A/N: Go forth and knock on the doors of strangers to demand their candy or threaten them with Joker Venom!

* * *

Harry lifted up his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly, who knew heading a rapidly growing gang could be so exhausting? The last few days had been especially hectic because the Gotham PD were taking them very seriously now and were working harder to arrest them. Things at home were getting crazier with planning of crimes, keeping tabs on Jokerz, Jin and Tonik fighting each other, and trying to figure out what to do with the freaked out Jokerz member that had been interrogated a few days ago, it was decided just to dump him off somewhere far away from their hide out and to fend for himself. Even though things were generally doing well with the Jokerz, there were a few members that acted out on their own and made themselves look like idiots and nearly took down their group members with them. 'Prank, remind me to draw up a basic set of rules or guidelines if we get anymore of those idiots.' _"I will make sure to do that…I see Dick over by the swings."_ 'Would it kill you to call him Ritchie or Richard or something like that, instead of Dick?' _"I will keep that in mind…"_

"Hey Harry," Dick greeted, standing up from the swing, "How you been?"

"Tired, been really busy and not getting enough sleep…got too much to do." Harry responded, jumping on the swing and standing up on it, "What about you, is anything different?"

"Nothing's really different…there's going to be a big costume party on Halloween, you want to come?" Dick asked.

"I'd love to!" Harry stated, grinning, "Where's it gonna be?"

Dick handed Harry a card, "The address is on that, don't forget to bring it with you or you won't get in."

"It's a private costume party?" Harry inquired.

"Sort of, you can bring a guest if you like," Dick answered, "You know what you're going as?"

"Nope, but I'll figure something out." Harry stated, "Better get planning then, see you around." Dick waved as Harry ran off.

—HJH—

"Mum, I need to make a costume!" Harry yelled, running into the hideout waving the invitation.

"What do you need another costume for?" Harley asked.

"Ritchie invited me to a costume party on Halloween," Harry answered, "And I can't go as Prank, I'd get arrested!"

"What do you want to go as, then?"

Harry thought for a moment before grin spread across his face, "I got the perfect thing! We got to get some stuff right now, shopping time!"

The two of them ran out of the hideout, leaving behind a confused and bewildered Joker and Remus, who muttered under his breath, "I'm losing my sanity, staying here."

"You'll finally fit in though," Joker remarked with a grin.

Eventually, Harley and Harry came back, arms full of random things and got working on Harry's costume. "Ow," Harry muttered under his breath, sucking on the finger that he had accidentally pricked with a needle.

"You okay?" Harley asked.

"Yeah…why am I the one doing the sewing?" Harry inquired.

"Because I'd most likely sew my fingers together," Harley responded, "And why are you choosing to dress up as _him_?"

Harry grinned, "I'm not allowed to dress up as a good guy for Halloween?"

—HJH—

Harry showed his invitation to the man at the door, grinning as he was allowed in by himself; Harley and Joker obviously could not come and Remus…he was recovering from an odd incident involving, apparently, an ice cream cannon. Harry scanned the room a moment, trying to spot Dick when he realized that he was most likely in costume. 'Prank, mind tracking down Ritchie for me?' _"He's over by the food tables…his costume sticks out a bit…"_ Harry wondered what Prank was talking about as he scanned the tables, stopping when he saw a costume he did not expect that anyone would wear and realized what Prank meant. He grinned as he made his way over to, who he thought was, Dick, "Hey there, Ritchie."

"How'd you figure out it was me?" Dick responded.

"Lucky guess," Harry answered with a laugh.

Dick noticed what costume Harry was wearing and stared blankly, "Interesting choice Harry."

Harry grinned widely and gave a short spin, showing off his Robin costume, "Thanks, it was fun to make too…my only complain is the tights, they're giving me a slight wedgie…"

"You made it?" Dick responded, trying not to laugh at the wedgie comment.

"With a bit of help from my mum," Harry answered, "Pieced it together from odds and ends we found…what about you?"

Dick had decided to dress up as Prank, for some inexplicable reason, "I kind of threw it together, too."

Both grinned, finding it ironic they had decided to dress up as for each other for Halloween. Both though the exact same thing: 'If only he knew that I was the actual thing!'

—HJH—

The party was going well; Harry was thankful that there was a lot of candy so he was not too disappointed about skipping out on trick-or-treating with Harley, Joker, and Remus. As he chewed absently on a caramel, Harry glanced about the room before settling on the drinks table and gave a small, secret grin. He silently made his way over to the table and, after making sure that no one was watching him, ducked underneath the table cloth. 'Prank, keep an eye out for me.' Harry withdrew a bottle from one of his pockets and cautiously crawled out from under the table. _"There is no one looking."_ Harry quietly unscrewed the top of the bottle and poured its contents into the bowl of punch; he quickly ran off and made sure to wipe the bottle clean of his fingerprints before tossing it into a plant. He made his way back over to where Dick was looking around for him and snuck up behind Dick, scaring him.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Dick complained, hand to his chest.

"You're too young to have one, Ritchie," Harry responded with a laugh.

As the two of them goofed around a bit more, Harry kept an eye on the spiked punchbowl, secretly grinning whenever he saw someone get something to drink from it and walk off. His eyes widened behind the mask as he saw Dick's guardian take a drink himself. 'This is either going to be very funny or very bad…' Luckily, it turned out fairly well, and was very amusing, who knew that a drunken millionaire could be so funny? Harry felt that he had nearly cracked a rib from holding his amusement in; eventually he failed and burst out into fits of laughter, drawing looks from several people.

"Did you have anything to do with that?" Dick asked with a wry grin.

"If I did, you can't prove anything," Harry smiled back.

"Where in the world did you find alcohol?" Dick asked.

Harry grinned, "I'm not going to convict myself so don't ask…wanna cause some mischief?"

"Like what?" Dick inquired.

"TP a house, play ding-dong-ditch, maybe egg a car?" Harry answered.

Dick was startled a moment, remembering a few years ago when someone he knew said something very similar. 'He's not Prank, he's Harry…even if he acts really mischievous.' "Sure, what's Halloween without a bit of mischief?"

"Glad you see it my way," Harry beamed, grabbing Dick by the arm and practically dragging him out of the room.

—HJH—

Harry cackled as he hit a car with an egg, "Come on Ritchie, lighten up, and egg a car with me!"

"Just get ready for a quick getaway," Dick responded as he tossed an egg himself, idly wondering where Harry had been able to get eggs without any money but deciding to not think about it too much. The two of them spent nearly an hour running around and causing mayhem, pranking everything from houses to people to cars, before Dick decided he should head back, "I better get back before Alfred starts worrying too much about me."

"Alright, see you around some other time then," Harry responded, running off into the night, wanting to have more fun. He ran around some more, causing more anarchy and chaos, and he completely loved it. 'I love living without rules!' _"Other than the ones Harley, Joker, and Remus set."_ 'Yeah, but those rules don't get in the way much.' _"Speaking of those three, I see that they decided to have some fun too…your parents are dressed as Batman and Catwoman, respectively, and Remus is in his wolf outfit."_ Harry looked around and quickly spotted them, mainly because Remus stood out with his costume and the fact he looked, and acted, like he had been dragged unwillingly out of the hideout. He carefully sneaked up behind Remus and spoke, clearly, "I guess mum and dad dragged you out?"

Remus jumped nearly a foot in the air, "Damn it, Harry, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"You're the second person to say that but in your case, it's more likely to happen," Harry laughed, "What're mum and dad up to, anyways?"

"Ringing doorbells and hitting anyone who answers with a pie," Remus responded with a sigh as the two did just that and ran off laughing.

"I think that's funny," Harry commented as he ran up and gave Harley a quick hug, "Either of you miss me?"

"That you Harry?" Harley asked, "There's more than one Robin running around tonight."

"Yeah, it's me," Harry smiled, "Either of you up for creating more chaos?"

"When are we not?" Joker responded, messing up Harry's hair.

'Was I an idiot to decide to live with them?' Remus thought as Harley and Harry dragged him off to another block.

—HJH—

'Why's it that _every_ Halloween I get separated from them?' _"Are you actually looking for an answer or being rhetorical?"_ 'What does that even mean?' _"Rhetorical? It means not literally."_ 'I guess I was being that, then.' Harry sighed and he wandered down an alley way, he stopped a moment when he saw a target that was too good to pass up; he saw the Batmobile, apparently there was something going on in the area but it did not really matter. He looked around quickly and saw a pair of guys tagging the Jokerz symbol and went over to them. "Give me the spray paint." The two guys stared at him for a moment before turning away laughing. Harry growled as he slammed the two Jokerz to the ground, "Just because I look like a good guy doesn't mean I am, just give me the damn spray paint already!" He grinned as they willingly handed the object over, "Good, now I won't have the two of you get beat up by every single Jokerz member out there."

The two Jokerz watched in shock and awe as Harry gleefully clambered on top of the Batmobile and started to vandalize it, he stopped for a moment and faced them, "Are you two just going to stand there, or are you going to help?" The two stared at Harry then shared a look with each other before they climbed onto the Batmobile and added their own touches to the work. About ten minutes later, Harry snickered as he put the final touches to his masterpiece, "Do either of you have a camera or something?" Good luck smiled on them because one of them did, a Polaroid in fact. Harry took a few pictures before running for his life, cackling. He glanced over his shoulder at his handiwork: a defaced Batmobile, which had, among other things, 'Jokerz rules!' spray painted onto it as well as a sloppily made clown face on the hood.

Sometime later, Batman went back to where he had hidden his vehicle and stared at the new paintjob for a moment before letting out an irritated sigh, "I'm going to find whoever did this…when I'm sober…"

—HJH—

Harry skipped happily into the hideout, humming a nameless tune.

"You have fun?" Harley asked.

"Yep…especially when I messed up the Bat's car," Harry remarked.

"You did what?" Joker asked, not believing him.

"I got pictures, if you don't believe me," Harry responded, holding up the mentioned items, which were quickly snatched out of his hands.

Joker stared at them for a moment before collapsing into hysterical laughter, "That's my boy!"


	18. Chapter 18

AN: Anything Harry Potter related belongs to JK and anything Batman related belongs to DC. And if you want to see my drawing of the defaced Batmobile, check out my deviantART account, it's listed as my homepage.

* * *

Harry hummed to himself as he placed the set of photos into an album, grinning at his wonderful change to the Batmobile. 'I wonder how the Bat is going to get that all of that off?'

—HJH—

Bruce growled as he scrubbed at the paint, slowly removing it, "I will find out who did this and when I do…"

Dick was quietly trying not to laugh, letting out small snickers.

Bruce looked up and glared at the Boy Wonder, "Either you give me a hand cleaning this up, or you're grounded!"

Dick grumbled darkly as he grabbed a rag and started cleaning.

—HJH—

Remus was grateful for the brief respite that came from both Harley and Joker being locked up in Arkham brought, but he was slightly worried at how antsy Harry was getting in their absence. He decided that since everything was quiet, now would be the perfect time to explain to Harry about everything that would most likely happen to him in the future, and to also discuss his past before Harley and Joker.

"What is it exactly you're trying to talk to me about?" Harry asked, crouching on a chair.

"First, sit normally and I'd like to discuss the years you spent with the Dursleys," Remus explained.

"I always sit like this…maybe it's because when I'm out and on guard I always crouch to make myself less noticeable? That'd explain why I sit this way," Harry responded, "And who're the Dursleys?"

"You don't remember them? They were your 'guardians' until you came here," Remus answered.

"…are you trying to talk about anything that happened before I started living here?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Remus responded.

"That explains why I don't know what you mean, I locked up all my memories from before I lived here…I don't think I liked them all the much," Harry explained.

"Um…can it be undone or is it permanent?" Remus asked.

"I think it can be unblocked, give me a few minutes," Harry answered before he closed his eyes and retreated into his mind. He opened his eyes to his 'mind room' as he had dubbed it, and exited, knocking on the door to Prank's room.

"Hello, Harry, any particular reason you are visiting?" Prank jokingly asked, opening the door.

Harry noted that Prank's hair seemed to start taking on a green tint to it, he wondered about that for a moment before deciding to ask later, "Weren't you listening to me talking to Ze'ev?"

"I assumed that it was a private conversation and stayed out of it," Prank explained.

"Oh…I need to unblock my memories so I have a clue what Ze'ev is talking about," Harry responded, "You know how to do that?"

"Yes," Prank answered, leading Harry down the hall to where the field of memories was, "it is very simple; we just need to unlock the door to where they are stored."

"What'd we lock them up in?" Harry inquired.

"A fabricated building…which I have fashioned to look like a hill, in various times of boredom, so it would not stand out in the field," Prank explained.

"Cool," Harry remarked, dodging a bubble as it floated past, "One day, we have to figure out a better way to organize all of these."

"When you have some downtime, we will," Prank responded with a ghost of a smile.

Harry playfully punched Prank on the arm before idly casting his gaze around the field, frowning when he saw an area that did not seem to fit; it was desolate and looked like the remains of a forest after a fire, with its blacked shells of trees littering it. He arched an eyebrow in curiosity and made his way over to the area, a slight shiver went down his spine as he crossed over from the green grass to the blackened earth, "Hey Prank, what's all this?"

Prank looked up from undoing the lock on the door to the sealed memories, and looked over to where Harry was before making his way over, "I am not sure, I have **avoided** this area because something about it makes me feel…**strange**…and there is something else about them."

"What're you talking about?" Harry asked.

"I do not think these are either your memories or mine, because they do not shine with the green that symbolizes your memories or the grey that indicates mine…but then why are they here?" Prank responded.

Harry noted that the memories here had a dark aura around them and he felt his scar twinge as one passed near him; he grabbed Prank's hand and reached out to a memory; the two found themselves outside a two-story home, "Why's this place feel familiar?"

"I find myself asking the same thing," Prank responded before abruptly disappearing.

"Prank…where'd you go?" Harry looked around for any sign of his other self but saw nothing; he looked around frantically before pressing a hand to his forehead, a sharp pain lancing through his mind and found himself being dragged along by an invisible force behind a man wearing a black robe with a hood. He did not register what was happening in the memory until he heard yelling, seeing a brief glimpse of a bright green light, and the thud of a body hitting the ground.

Harry stole a brief look at the man and was shocked to see a near mirror image of him, except the eyes were a different color. 'Is that my birth dad?' He had no time to dwell on the thought as the dark robed figure walked up the staircase and he was forced to keep following, faintly hearing the crying of a baby. He flinched as a door was blasted off its hinges to reveal a nursery and the sounds of the crying baby intensified.

"This isn't my memory! This shouldn't be in my head!" Harry screamed, trying to avoid watching the scene unfolding in front of him but he could not turn away, he settled for closing his eyes and covering his ears.

"Not Harry, please not him!" Lily screamed.

"Step aside, foolish woman!" the man spoke, an odd hissing tone to his voice.

"Take me instead, leave him alone," Lily pleaded.

"_Avada Kedavra_!" the man yelled.

Harry tried to cover his ears more to block out all sounds and kept his eyes as tightly closed as he could, but the piercing sounds of his baby self crying out cut his soul.

"Impudent little brat," the man hissed, "_Avada Kedavra_!"

Harry was yanked roughly out of the memory and was not very surprised at the fact he was shaking, "W-what was that?"

"I do not know Harry…are you alright?" Prank asked, trying to be comforting.

"Where'd you go?!" Harry screamed, glaring at Prank.

"I…I do not know," Prank responded, "One moment, I was with you and the next, I am pulling you out of that…nightmare."

"…I want to see a good memory…" Harry murmured, to which Prank quietly nodded his head and gently picked up the other boy. Prank paused slightly, looking over the field for a memory that would be appropriate before finally settling on one. Harry smiled, seeing that Prank had chosen his first Christmas with Harley and Joker, "Good choice."

"I thought you might like it," Prank commented, holding Harry in a loose grip.

"Can you finish unlocking my memories?" Harry asked absently, keeping his gaze on the happy scene.

"Of course," Prank responded, leaving Harry alone and to do what he was asked.

—HJH—

"Harry, are you alright?" Remus asked, worried at the fact Harry had been, what could best be described as, catatonic for about ten minutes.

"Yeah, I'm fine …what were we talking about before I had to go in my head?" Harry asked, trying to avoid talking about what had just happened.

Remus stared at Harry for a moment before talking about Harry's magic and what should happen to him in the future, including going to a school to teach him how to control his magic in about a year.

"So, is the reason I can change my hair color is because of magic?" Harry asked.

"In a way; you have a very rare magical ability where you can change your appearance at will, those who have this ability are called Metamorphmagi," Remus explained.

"So, I'm a Meta…whatever?" Harry responded.

"Metamorphmagus, technically; Metamorphmagi is plural, more than one," Remus clarified.

"Really? …you think I can change more than my hair?" Harry tugged on a lock.

"I believe you can, but I'm not an expert so I don't really know," Remus answered.

"Did either of my blood parents have it?" Harry asked.

"I don't think they did or I just didn't see it, which I think is unlikely, I was around them quite a bit…why do you refer to them as your blood parents and not just your parents?" Remus inquired.

"Because Harley and Joker **are** my parents, since they're the only people that I can remember being that," Harry answered.

"I see…" Remus remarked quietly.

"Does it bother you?" Harry asked, "I can't call people I've never really met or remember my parents, when I have my own."

The two of them talked a little while longer about various things: what Remus' own schooling was like with a few stories of his time there, what Harry should expect from the public when he showed up and how to deal with it without seriously injuring someone, and a bit of everything else that Remus thought might be helpful to Harry's eventual transitioning to the magical world.

"Do you have anything else to ask?" Remus inquired.

"Yeah…can you get something to eat, I don't feel like making anything," Harry responded with a grin.

Remus chuckled slightly, before getting up, "What would you like?"

Harry shrugged, "I'm not picky…just no seafood, I don't ever want to see another fish again after the Smiling Fish incident."

Remus tilted his head in confusion at the statement, "Smiling Fish?"

"I'll tell you when you get back, it's a long story," Harry responded.

—HJH—

Sometime after Remus had left, Harry himself staring at this reflection, thinking about his conversation just now, mainly about the rare ability he had. _"What are you thinking?"_ 'Read my thoughts.' _"I consider that an invasion of privacy."_ 'I was just thinking about what Ze'ev said that I can change how I look, other than my hair…' _"It is a useful talent, especially in this line of work."_ 'I'm going to test out a few things…' Harry stared at his reflection, willing for anything to happen; he gave a slight smile when he eyes changed color to a familiar blue. 'That's a start…wonder if I can make them look like Ze'ev's?'

—HJH—

Harry groaned and covered his eyes, "Why does my head hurt?"

"Most likely because you overworked yourself trying out your abilities," Remus offered, patting Harry on the head.

Harry knocked the hand away, "Don't do that, makes it worse…"

"Sorry," Remus apologized and held out a burger as a peace offering, "You said you were going to tell me about the Smiling Fish."

Harry grabbed the burger and took a quick bite out of it, "Well, dad decided to make the fish all over Gotham a bit more cheery and put Joker Venom into the water, giving them all grins. He then tried to cash in on it but he hit a snag, apparently you can't copyright a natural resource; dad wasn't happy when he heard that and he went around killing politicians and government people, stupid Bat interfered again and ruined the fun. The grins the fish had were seriously creepy and are still putting me off eating any seafood…maybe forever."

"…well, I wouldn't blame you," Remus responded, slightly disturbed that Harry talked so causally of someone being killed.


	19. Break Out: Harry Edition

AN: Sorry about the delay, guys, Writer's Block is a total pain.

* * *

**Hideout #6**

"You sure you don't want to come along?" Harry asked, adjusting his goggles.

"Moonrise is in a few hours; even though I took the potion, I'd rather not risk accidentally biting someone," Remus answered.

"That was an interesting trip though…could've done without the swarming of people around me, I was about to start stabbing people if you hadn't pulled me away," Harry gave a smirk as he attached his mask.

"I'm glad you didn't," Remus responded, "they were excited to see you alive, though."

"Am I really that big a celebrity in the magical world?" Harry inquired.

"Yes, I explained it to you already," Remus replied.

"I know, but I just wanted to hear it again," Harry laughed.

"I thought you were heading out?" Remus reminded.

"Oh yeah," Harry responded, motioning for Bud and Lou to stand next to him, "At least you won't be completely alone tonight, Jin and Tonik will keep you company…just make sure that Tonik doesn't use Jin as a chew toy."

"I'll keep that in mind," Remus replied, watching Harry leave and let out a sigh of relief, "At least I get some quiet for a few hours." The quiet was broken by loud growls and yelping noises as Tonik chased Jin pass Remus, causing him to sigh loudly, "I jinxed myself when I said that…"

—HJH—

**Arkham Asylum**

Harry glanced around at the Jokerz that had volunteered or were 'convinced' into helping out with his plan, "All of you are armed, right?" He was met with several sounds of agreement, "Good, now all we had to do is wait for Booze and Whitey to set up the charges and we'll be ready."

"…was it wise to have her handle the explosives?" someone asked.

"…I drew her name out of a hat, that's how I generally do things," Harry honestly responded, picking up a walkie-talkie, "Hey, you guys finished on your end?"

"Hiya Prank!" a loud voice, belonging to a female, spoke through the walkie-talkie, causing several people to wince, "Me and Whitey are all set up to do that thing you told us to do!"

"…Whitey, how much has Booze had to drink?" Harry asked through the device, idly rubbing his temples.

There was brief rustling sound through the gadget and some muttered protests before a male voice responded, "I found about six or seven empty beer cans and half a bottle of Jack Daniel's."

Harry lightly hit his head on a tree, "When this is done, we're getting her into an AA meeting…"

"I don't have a problem…and give me back my whiskey!"

"_She needs some serious help."_ Harry put the walkie-talkie down before speaking, "All in favor of dumping Booze at an AA meeting when this is over with?" Everyone's hand went up. "Alright, after the job is done, someone grab her and drag her to a meeting," He turned to face the slightly intimidating shape of Arkham and let out a small noise of surprise as Bud maneuvered himself so that Harry was riding on his back, "Never thought either of you would do that." Bud responded with a grunt.

"What're your orders, Prank?" someone asked.

Harry glanced at the group collected around him before raising the walkie-talkie to his mouth, "Whitey, light it up."

Everyone, save Harry, flinched at the sight and sounds of an explosion going off, Harry smirked slightly at their reactions, "Get used to it guys, if you want to stay in the group." He gently nudged Bud in the sides with his heels to get him to move, quickly wrapping his arms around Bud's neck as he took off. As the approached Arkham, Jokerz not too far behind, Harry saw the massive hole in the wall; he blinked a few times blankly before lifting up the walkie-talkie, "You used **way** too much TNT."

"Sorry boss, we didn't know how much was needed," Whitey answered, "Booze, get down from that tree!"

Harry sighed and shook his head in exasperation, before taking a better look at what was left of the wall, "…well, I think this was the exact same one that got blown open when I was busted out, so I guess it wasn't all that solid or something."

An inmate looked at the hole in wall before walking off; shaking his head, "No wonder they say that this place has a freaking revolving door…and that's why the food tastes like crap, it's not cheap constantly repairing walls!"

Bud padded through the hole in the wall, Harry still riding on top of him, when an irate voice rang out, "You dummy, you nearly hit me!"

Harry turned around and was confronted with a man holding a doll, "You talking to me?"

"Who else would I talk to?" the voice came from the doll.

The man holding the doll looked nervous, "Mr. Scarface, I don't think you should—"

"Shut up dummy!" Scarface, apparently what the doll was called, ordered.

"Wait a minute; would I be right in guessing you two are Arnold Wesker, a.k.a. the Ventriloquist, and Scarface?" Harry interrupted.

"What's it to you?" Scarface snapped.

"It was just a question, no need to get snippy," Harry responded.

"Um, that is us," Arnold meekly cut in.

"Quiet!" Scarface ordered.

Harry watched at the puppet berated the man, "If you two will excuse me, I have family to break out," He leaned down and murmured into Bud's ear, "You don't mind sniffing out mum and dad, right?" Bud responded with a soft sound before sniffing the ground and running down a hallway, Harry once again wrapping his arms tightly around the muscled neck to keep from falling off. As Bud ran down the halls, people quickly dove out of the way or were bowled over, Harry kept yelling at people to move out of the way, laughing the entire time. Bud skidded to a stop so quickly; Harry was nearly thrown forward from the momentum, "You need to slow down before you stop," Harry commented, getting off Bud.

"It's his first time with a passenger, give him a break," Harley commented, from behind the Plexiglas of her cell.

"I know, I know," Harry responded, staring at the keypad to the cell, "how do I open this?"

"The code's 25696," Harley informed, and seeing the look Harry gave her, explained, "I've seen the guards punch it in enough times to memorize."

"Hopefully, you're right," Harry remarked, pressing the numbers, slightly surprised when the cell opened.

Harley smirked at the look on Harry's face, "Now, let's go find Puddin'."

It did not take too long to find Joker's cell, which was fitted with a Plexiglas wall too.

"Hey dad," Harry greeted, striding up to Joker's cell, "You all rested up?"

"Who wouldn't be? I get three square meals a day, a private room, and a toilet right next to the bed, what's not to like?" Joker responded sarcastically.

Harry rolled his eyes as he idly tapped on the control pad for the cell, "Any clue what the code might be?"

"Nope," Joker responded glibly.

"Great…" Harry replied sarcastically. _"Maybe your magic can help?"_ 'What do you mean?' _"See if you can channel your magic into the control pad and force it to open the cell." _'Worth a shot…' Harry did as Prank suggested, not really believing that anything would happen, when the control panel shorted out and the cell opened. '…I hate when you're right…' _"It was only a guess; I did not know anything would happen."_ 'Shut it.'

"That's a neat trick, hun," Harley remarked as Joker strode out of his cell, "How come you haven't used it before?"

"It was a lucky shot that it work," Harry responded, "We should get going though, I don't think the Jokerz are prepared enough to hold off the guards for too long."

"We're going to make a quick stop first," Joker interrupted.

"Where?" Harry asked, confused.

"I need to pay Scarecrow back for something…someone find me a chair…" Joker grinned ominously.

"…you're going to beat him with a chair again?" Harley inquired, amused.

"Because he messed with our kid!" Joker responded, messing up Harry's hair.

"Why does everyone mess with my hair?!" Harry yelled, trying to tame it again.

—HJH—

Harry wandered around, Bud by his side, trying to track down where Scarecrow was but instead ran into a pair of familiar faces. "Hey Aunt Ivy, Two-Face," he greeted, "You want out; just head through the big hole in the wall in the rec room…by the way, either of you know where Straw-boy is?"

"I think he's in solitary for trying to trade asylum-made Fear Toxin," Ivy answered, knowing that 'Straw-boy' was Harry's nickname for Scarecrow.

"At least he'll be easy to find, I want to introduce him to Bud…mainly his teeth," Harry laughed as he scratched behind Bud's ears, "Think you can find him?"

Bud simply gave Harry a look.

"If you can, track him down," Harry responded.

It took a few minutes before Bud scratched at a door, indicating that he had found the person his owners had been looking for.

"Good boy," Harry remarked, scratching behind Bud's ears to which he responded by licking Harry's hand, "Mum, dad, I found Straw-boy!"

—HJH—

Getting out of Arkham was easy, just go out the hole that was made, but leaving the grounds was a bit trickier since they could not just sneak away anymore with the guards on alert and searching for any escapees…that was when Joker decided to hotwire a padded van, normally used to transport inmates into Arkham, to assist in their escape. Harry clambered into the back, bouncing slightly on the cushions as Bud and Lou were helped in too; he peered through the security screen to watch as Harley got into the driver's seat while Joker got into the passenger side. The vehicle started up and Harley crashed through the front gates, a few other cars following behind, filled with Jokerz.

"Head for hideout #3!" Harry informed.

"We'll keep that in mind, but we're not heading back yet," Joker answered.

"Are we going to celebrate or something?" Harry asked, rolling across the floor as the vehicle made a sharp turn.

"Yep," Joker responded, "Harley, to the amusement park, and I mean the one that's still open!"

—HJH—

Harry idly ate some cotton candy, his mask set down next to him, as he watched his parents, as well as a few Jokerz that decided they wanted to have some fun too, ride the bumper cars. It was quite amusing that at first the Jokerz were too intimidated to hit either Joker or Harley, but after Joker yelled at them, and threatened bodily harm, to play for real, things got a lot more interesting.

Thethree of them made their rounds at the various game booths and winning, a few times fairly, some prizes; it was amusing to see Harley carrying around an oversized teddy bear she had obtained from a Ring the Bell game, which she had won without cheating although she accidentally sent the bell at the top flying from the force of the indicator striking it.

Harry tossed his empty bag of kettle corn into the trash and secured his mask back in place._"It seems a pair of winged annoyances has arrived to __**spoil**__ things."_ "Huh?" _"…Batman and Robin are here."_ 'Why didn't you say that in the first place?' _"I thought I did."_ Harry looked up quickly to see the two costumed heroes land near him.

"I'm not surprised to see you here, prematurely celebrating your parents' breakout," Robin spoke, glaring at Harry.

Harry grinned, though no one could see it, before directing his gaze to Batman, "Hey, Batsy, did you like what I did to your car? I think I did pretty well for my first experience with spray-paint!" he cackled loudly and could tell from the intense glare that was being directed at him from the Bat, that he was most likely ticked off. He grinned for the momentary distraction that came from Bud and Lou attacking the heroes and readied a bomb he had made special for the two of them; he gave a low growling sound to indicate that Bud and Lou should get away from who they were attacking before he threw the bomb, he collapsed into hysterics as it went off, covering both Batman and Robin in a coating of pink paint, "That's not a half bad look for the two of you!"

Robin lunged at Harry, just barely missing grabbing the fabric of his straitjacket as the green haired boy jumped away, "I'll get you, you stupid clown!"

"You keep saying that, but it never happens!" Harry cackled as he turned and ran from the angered boy wonder, weaving around game booths and tossing any random objects he could get his hands on at the other boy.

"You have to do better than that," Robin stated.

"Catch me if you can, Birdbrain!" Harry laughed as he ran into the hall of mirrors, nearly colliding into one soon after entering.

Robin chased after the young costumed villain and ran into a mirror at nearly full speed, "Where are you, you dumb monkey?"

"Don't make fun of how I fight!" Harry snapped.

"Then change it," Robin responded, watching where he was going.

"I like how I fight, so no," Harry laughed, trying to keep track of where the other boy was which was fairly easy since he was still dripping paint.

Robin heard Harry's laughter and tried to follow it, only to smack into another mirror; he grumbled darkly under his breath as he rubbed his nose, "Stupid little…"

"Temper, temper Birdie," Harry teased, his reflection surrounding the other boy, "It's been fun watching you run into stuff, but I have to go, see you around."

Robin growled angrily as the reflections slowly disappeared, indicating the little criminal had fled.

A little while later, Gordon was conversing with Batman and Robin, giving a complete account of what had happened at Arkham.

"Poison Ivy, Two-Face, and the Ventriloquist all escaped, including several other 'low-key' patients, you two already know about Joker and Harley Quinn; a few staff members were injured, mainly bites from those hyenas and a few knife wounds, luckily no one was close to the wall when it was blown open; the only one with serious injuries was Scarecrow, he was found beaten and unconscious in his cell…and his face was drawn on in marker, making him look like a clown," Gordon reported, attempting not to laugh.

"Blame Prank for the new wardrobe," Robin deadpanned, trying to get bits of dried paint out of his hair.

—HJH—

Everyone had gotten away without much incident and, after dropping off Booze at the closest AA meeting to Arkham, hogtied and with a note attached explaining her presence there, the Jokerz broke off into their own groups and went to either cause more mayhem or just head home.

"That was fun, wouldn't you agree?" Harry remarked, walking in with Harley and Joker into Hideout #3, Bud and Lou following behind them.

"Especially the paint bomb!" Harley laughed, "By the way, I thought we were all set up in Hideout #6, what's up?"

"It's a full moon tonight," Harry answered.

"Oh yeah, wolf time," Harley responded before idly looking around the hideout, it had been an old fireworks factory and there were a few boxes left over from when it was still open.

"There might still be fireworks here, but it's safer than being in the same place as werewolf…even if he does know what's going on," Harry replied.

"…tonight was great and all, but the writer really has to stop delaying and get on to the main story already," Joker commented.

"What're you talking about?" Harry responded, both he and Harley were confused about Joker's statement.

"…never mind," Joker replied, casting a brief glance upwards.

* * *

AN: If you're wondering what the hell Joker is talking about at the end, it's a bit of a reference; in the comics and cartoons, Joker is aware that he's a fictional character and sometimes comments about it and, in some comics, interacts with various things that are around his character such as leaning on a speech bubble or even turning the page for the reader.


	20. Skool Dayz

Harry watched the group of students exiting the school, for a recess break, with a watchful eye, keeping an eye out for one particular person. He never really understood why someone was required to go to school, the only thing that seemed like fun were the recess and lunch breaks; he also found it interesting that, to save on space, the elementary school and the middle school were housed in practically the same building. He scanned the grounds briefly, growling at not seeing the person he wanted. 'Prank, do you mind helping me look for Ritchie?' _"__Of course not…he is actually heading in this direction, just wait and he should be right below you."_ 'Thanks.' As if given a cue, the boy in question walked into Harry's view, heading for the tree he was perched in, "Hi Ritchie," Harry said, scaring the other boy; he held tightly onto the branch he was sitting on while he laughed.

"I thought I told you to stop scaring me like that!" Dick yelled, clutching at his chest before looking up, "What're you doing here anyways?"

"I got bored and I decided to follow you around today," Harry answered, legs swinging back and forth.

"You followed me to school? What're you, a dog?" Dick responded, "Don't you have school too?"

"I'm schooled by a couple of my uncles, and I think I might be too destructive to go to a normal school," Harry explained, slipping off the branch and landing gracefully on the ground, "It's enough fun watching you going about your schedule, though."

"…Harry, why is your hair purple?" Dick asked, staring at the color.

Harry ran a hand through his hair and tugged on a lock, "I got bored with it being black, so I got some help and dyed it."

"That's an interesting choice of color, any particular reason for it?" Dick responded.

"Nope, just picked it at random," Harry replied.

"So, why're you hanging around my school?" Dick asked.

"I thought I told you, I followed you here…and I was very, very **bored**," Harry explained, suddenly grinning.

"…what're you thinking?" Dick inquired, wary.

Harry smirked, "How much you want to bet your teachers don't notice me if I follow you to the rest your classes?"

—HJH—

Harry followed Dick into another classroom, gazing around the room before settling on a glass case; he wandered over to it and peered inside, noticing that it held a snake, _"Maybe mum or dad will let me get one…"_

"_Go away stupid human…"_ a voice hissed.

Harry looked around, and noticed that there was no one close enough to talk to him, "Who said that?"

"_Crazy human, talking to himself,"_ the voice hissed again.

Harry stared at the snake for a moment, _"…are you the one insulting me?"_

"_You heard me? I've never met a human who could understand me!"_ the snake lifted itself up slightly to stare back.

"_I've never met a snake before, so this is interesting,"_ Harry responded with a laugh.

"…Harry, why are you hissing at the class pet?" Dick asked, confused.

"What're you talking about?" Harry responded, looking up.

"You were just hissing at the snake," Dick clarified.

"No I wasn't, I was speaking English," Harry retorted before turning back to the snake, _"…I was speaking English, right?"_

"_No, you're speaking my language,"_ the snake responded.

"_Oh…never knew I could speak snake,"_ Harry responded before turning back to his friend, grinning widely, "Looks like I found something new about myself."

The bell rang, signaling the start of class, and Harry rushed to grab a seat in the back of the room, glad for the fact there was no set seating for anyone and as long as he did not draw too much attention to himself, he was ignored completely.

After the class was over, Harry trailed behind Dick, grinning widely especially when a few other students would stop to stare at him; he leaned close to his friend and whispered, "You think they know I shouldn't be here?"

"I think it's because of your hair," Dick replied.

"Oh," Harry responded, tugging on his hair, "…is it cool that I can talk to snakes?"

"I think it is, what was it saying anyways?" Dick asked.

"Nothing, just annoyed at me I think," Harry laughed, "You know what I find funny?"

"What?" Dick responded, sitting down at a table in the lunchroom.

"The fact that none of your teachers have noticed that I'm not a regular student; are they really oblivious or just stupid?" Harry joked.

"Some I'd say one or the other…at least one of them is both," Dick laughed before offering a part of his sandwich, "Want some of my lunch?"

"Thanks a million," Harry responded, grabbing half and taking a bite out of it.

"Hey there, rich boy," a voice taunted, drawing Harry and Dick's attention.

"Hello Brett," Dick responded, annoyed. Harry glanced up to see a boy, not much older than himself or Dick, standing near them; he noted idly that Brett had red hair, something he did not see too often.

"Who's the weirdo?" Brett asked, casting a brief glance at Harry.

"I could ask you the same thing," Harry responded, with a grin.

"I'm not surprised you would choose such a brat as your only friend," Brett spoke, ignoring Harry.

"Better to have one true friend instead of a lot fake ones…by the way, no one makes fun of my best friend," Harry stated before tossing grabbing the Jell-O cup from a random student and throwing it at Brett, who dodged it at the last moment. The dessert ended up hitting another student several tables away, several quiet seconds passed before someone decided to yell out: FOOD FIGHT!

Harry took the liberty of throwing several handfuls of something that vaguely looked like macaroni and cheese before he was dragged off.

"That was completely insane!" Dick stated as he dragged Harry out of the chaos that was occurring in the lunchroom. He let go of Harry's arm to get some food out of hair and turned around after accomplishing that, just barely seeing Harry duck into an empty classroom.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Dick exclaimed, entering the room and seeing Harry climbing onto a table.

"I'm bored, and while the food fight was fun, I need more entertainment," Harry answered, opening a cabinet and pulling some bottles out of it.

"You're in the Chemistry Lab," Dick pointed out, "not a good place to play in!"

"I know where I am, I read the sign on the door," Harry flippantly remarked, glancing at the label of one of the bottles he had pulled out, "I can't believe they still have Willy Pete!"

"What's that?" Dick asked, trying to get a better look at the bottle.

"It's a nickname for White Phosphorus," Harry answered, grabbing a beaker and setting it down and proceeding to pour the contents of several bottles into it.

"What're you doing?!" Dick exclaimed.

"Calm down, I know what I'm doing!" Harry stated before staring at the beaker, which was emitting a white smoke and fizzing ominously, "Um…that's not good…"

"Get down!" Dick grabbed the back of Harry's shirt and yanked him to the floor and dragged him under a table just as the beaker exploded and caused a chain reaction that set off several other bottles to explode.

Harry shook his head, to try and clear the ringing in his ears, when he noticed that at least half the room was destroyed. '…I need to remember what the heck I used just now, dad will love it!"

—HJH—

"I can't believe you blew half up half of the Chem. Lab," Dick grumbled, slouching in his seat outside the principle's office.

"I was **bored**, what else do you expect?" Harry responded, wiping away some ash from cheek.

"Now I fully understand why you can't go to a normal school, Dick replied.

Harry grinned, "By the way, you got some soot under your eye."

"Where?" Dick inquired, rubbing at the area.

"Let me get it," Harry said, quickly wiping away dust.

"Um, thanks," Dick responded.

"No problem," Harry smiled, going back to idly staring at the ceiling.

The tense silence was broken when the two boys were called into the office and were confronted by a very angry principle, "Just what do either of you think you were doing?!"

"I was goofing around, don't know what Ritchie was thinking," Harry joked.

"…who are you, anyways?"

"Not a student," Harry grinned, idly noticing that Dick was shaking his head at how nonchalant Harry was.

"Then, how're you here?" the principle was very confused.

"Your staff isn't all that bright; if any of them were more observant, the whole accident wouldn't have happened. Having someone that's not supposed to be here, walking around freely is really stupid, especially with all of the villains Gotham has, and considering the fact you have easy access to chemicals too…" Harry remarked before turning slightly, "By the way Ritchie, you owe me ten bucks, I was right…I was completely amazed that no one really noticed me, I have purple hair for crying out loud!"

The principle chewed them out, Harry more than Dick, banning Harry from coming on to the school's grounds again and suspending Dick for a week. After that, the two of them waited back outside, Harry noticing that the principle pulled out a bottle from his desk. The two of them waited idly before Bruce walked up to them, an eyebrow arched in question, "Either of you want to explain the call about the Chemistry Lab blowing up?"

"Um…that would have been all me, Mr. Wayne," Harry spoke, "The only reason Ritchie got blamed too is because he was in the same room telling me not to mess around."

"Is this true?" Bruce directed to Dick.

"Um, well…" Dick hesitated.

"If you try to take any of the blame, I'll punch you," Harry interrupted.

Bruce smiled to himself as the two boys bickered and decided to intervene when they came close to actually fighting, "Alright, alright, stop before you end up hurting each other." The two stopped, but not before giving each other a playful shove causing Bruce to smile, "Where's your uncle, by the way Harry?"

"He…doesn't exactly know I'm here," Harry admitted, sheepishly, "I ditched him at the park to come here."

"Need a ride there?" Bruce offered.

"If you don't mind," Harry replied, sheepishly.

—HJH—

"Hey Remus," Harry smiled at the weary looking man.

"Where've you been?" Remus asked before noticing that Bruce and Dick were with Harry; he rubbed he eyes tiredly before asking, "What did he do?"

"Partially blew up a Chem. Lab," Harry responded.

"Don't forget the food fight," Dick muttered under his breath, drawing looks from both adults.

"That too," Harry grinned.

"You're parents will most likely kill me," Remus sighed.

"Cheer up; most likely they'll make it quick and painless!" Harry laughed, grabbing Remus' arm and dragging him off, "See you around Ritchie!"

Dick waved goodbye, "Today was a lot more interesting with him around."

"He's a little morbid though for someone his age," Bruce commented to which Dick responded with a glare before stalking off back towards the car, "What'd I say?"

—HJH—

Harry skipped into the hideout and was nearly bowled over by an excited Jin, "I guess you were bored without me today?" Jin responded with a soft whine as he urged Harry to pick him up.

"Hey hun, where were you all day?" Harley asked.

"After ditching Ze'ev at the park, I followed my friend around his school all day, started a food fight at lunch, and almost blew up his school's Chem. Lab, so today was all fun," Harry answered.

Joker heard the tail end of the conversation, "…you nearly blew up a school without us?!"

"…it wasn't my intention to blow it up in the first place!" Harry retorted.

"Just be glad he didn't end up in the hospital, I don't think the staff would react well to owls suddenly showing up," Remus reasoned.

"It's that close to me getting my letter?" Harry responded, surprised.

"Yes, your letter should be arriving very soon…we need to invest in some up-to-date calendars around here, I'm losing track of the days," Remus sighed.

* * *

AN: Finally, the prologue, or sorts, is done! This isn't the end of Harry and his completely dysfunctional family, I plan to try and write all the books, detailing how much havoc Harry is going to cause at Hogwarts. It might take me a while to write much, but to tide you guys over; I've created a bit of a preview of things to come. Check it out!


	21. Preview

Preview for

Two's a Crowd: The Blood Stone

* * *

Harry growled deeply as he mounted his broom and flew up so that he was level with Malfoy. He confidently stood up, balancing easily, and in the process drawing several of his cards from their hiding places and into his hands, showing them to Malfoy threateningly, "Give back what you took or I'll start slicing off body parts."

"You wouldn't dare…and you can't hurt me with some playing cards," Malfoy retorted, but he was unsure about what he had said, he could see the determination in Harry's eyes and saw that the sunlight glinted eerily off the cards.

"Malfoy, I'm standing on top of a broom at least fifty feet off the ground and you're telling me I wouldn't dare hurt you?" Harry responded incredulously, "Also, these aren't just your regular cards, or even the ones used to play Exploding Snap with, I can throw one of these into a wall in the castle and they would embed at least half of its length through it! I'll say it one last time, give me what you took."

Malfoy gritted his teeth in anger before holding up the orb, "Catch," he threw the orb as far up as he could before shooting back towards the ground.

Harry growled as he shot off after the orb, throwing a card in Malfoy's direction; he smirked as he heard Malfoy cry out in pain. 'Serves him right, the little snot.'


End file.
